But the Story Never Ends
by WhoMe-2
Summary: End of Time fix-it. In the final moments of the Tenth Doctor's life, he is given a second chance and an opportunity for the one adventure he thought he could never have.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N The idea for this was inspired by the other brilliant stories I've read based on the concept that when the Doctor was regenerating during "The End of Time," his essence was preserved and reborn into TenToo. In my mind, that idea has now become canon.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. All rights belong to the BBC.**

* * *

"Where are you going?" Wilfred asked, a question of concern rather than curiosity. This man, this wonderful Doctor had sacrificed himself – not for the universe, not for the world, but in order to save the life of just one. Even though he still wore the same face, it would not be for much longer. The life the Doctor now knew was drawing to a close. Wilfred's concern over the man in the blue box leaving arose from this one thought: He didn't want the Doctor to die alone.

The Doctor paused for a moment before answering Wilfred's question as images of those most dear to his hearts gently flowed through his thoughts in bitter-sweet succession. He only had a short amount of time left. The irony didn't escape him — a Time Lord running out of time. If these were his final moments, then his desire was for one thing: a chance to see those he so deeply cared about one last time. There was only one answer he could give to summarize the meaning this last trip held for him.

"To get my reward," he answered, then slipped into the TARDIS to begin his final journey.

One by one he made his fleeting farewells, even if those he saw didn't know that's what it was at the time. But they knew. They all knew. He could see it in their eyes, because they had seen it in his. This was the end — at least for his Tenth self. And even if their paths crossed again someday, nothing would ever again be the same.

The Doctor's time was quickly running out, but there was still one last person he wanted, _needed_ to see. The one person his thoughts lingered upon when he spoke of getting his reward.

Rose.

He had once said that it was her name that kept him fighting, and that was still true even now. He fought through the pain and fought off the regeneration that was hunting him down like wounded prey and would soon claim him because he had to see her just one last time. It was her face he wanted to commit to memory and hold forever in his hearts. He saved this journey for the very end because he wanted Rose to be the last person his eyes would ever see. If he could see her smile just once more, maybe it would ease death's sting.

The icy night air pervaded through to his bones like the cold tendril of death which was slowly wrapping him in its grip as he stood in the shadows watching from a distance. He couldn't chance speaking to her. Just being here like this and crossing timelines was risky. But it was a risk he was willing to take if it meant he could see her one last time.

He watched as Rose came into view, walking along and talking with her mum, coming closer to where he stood. His hearts clenched at the sight of her. The pain of losing Rose had never once left him. It wasn't just the pain of loss, but the pain of regret. He regretted losing her that fateful day at Canary Wharf, regretted running out of time before he could tell her what he had wanted to say for so long, and regretted not having the courage to say it when he was given a second chance.

Even though it had been painful to stand by and watch, he was glad that his duplicate had the courage to say the words to Rose, because she deserved at least that much. He had never stopped thinking about Rose from the moment he turned his back to her on that beach and walked away. He hoped she was having the fantastic life he always wanted for her. He hoped his other self was giving her all the love she so deserved but he himself could never give.

He stood in the darkness continuing to watch her, not wanting to look away for even a moment because these few brief seconds were all he would have. She was passing by now, unaware that he was even there. The pain and finality of watching her go from his life culminated with the pain now coursing through his body, and he could not hold back the sound of agony that rose in his throat and escaped his lips.

His Rose, so in tuned to him even now, instantly picked up on his distress and turned back towards him, her eyes full of concern as she looked at him for the first, last time.

"You alright, mate?"

"Yeah," he managed. What was one more lie? _I'm always alright. Does it need saying?_ It seemed he rarely spoke the truth to her, so he supposed now shouldn't be any different.

"Too much to drink?"

"Something like that."

She paused and gazed intently into his eyes. "Maybe it's time you went home."

Home.

He swallowed hard. He wanted nothing more than to go home. But home for him had been left behind standing on a beach in Norway, and he could never go back.

"Yeah," he breathed out in agreement.

"Anyway," she brightened, "happy New Year!"

He managed a smile. How could he not when Rose was smiling back at him. "And you."

She turned to go. He couldn't bear for her to leave, not yet. Desperate for just a few more precious moments with her, he kept her talking by asking the first thing that flew into his head.

"What year is this?" He obviously didn't have to ask. He had set the coordinates for this very date. But his question succeeded in buying him just a little more time with her.

"Blimey, how much have you had?" Even she could see his question didn't really need to be asked.

He shrugged, hoping she would humor him.

It worked.

"Two thousand and five, January the first," she replied slowly.

"Two thousand and five," he repeated, then decided he could at least tell her the truth about one thing. "Tell you what, I bet you are going to have a really great year."

She grinned widely, and for just this moment everything else was forgotten as he lost himself in her glorious smile.

"Yeah?"

He smiled genuinely in return. Only Rose could do that for him and bring a smile to his face in the moments of his death. His last smile was reserved only for her.

She continued grinning. "See ya!" she called to him one last time before turning to go.

His smile faded as he watched her disappear from his sight. She would soon see him, but he would never again see her. Pain seized him once again. He could fight this no longer. The time had come.

He gripped the wall for support as he pulled himself out into the empty alley and towards the TARDIS. His agony increased with every step until his legs could no longer support him and he fell beneath the strain. His eyes were bleary and losing focus as he looked towards his ship. He didn't know if he could make it those last few feet. It was then that his gaze fell upon Ood Sigma standing in the distance.

"We will sing for you, Doctor. The universe will sing you to your sleep."

As the haunting melody permeated his soul, he found the strength to pull himself up and complete his journey. Sheer determination drove his every step as he neared the TARDIS and his inevitable end.

"This song is ending, but the story never ends," were the final words he would hear.

He knew the story would not end here, but it was _this_ story he wanted to continue. He could do _so much more._ Even though he would regenerate, it still felt like dying. Everything he was would soon die. A new man would go sauntering away, but the man he now was would be dead.

Determined to complete his journey, he made his way into the TARDIS. He leaned heavily on the door, then straightened up and tossed his coat over the strut one last time. He raised his hand and gazed at the golden glow now beginning to radiate from it. It was almost time. He closed his fist and approached the console, then set the TARDIS in flight for the final time. He stepped back as the regeneration process began. His hearts were beating rapidly. His physical agony merged with his mental turmoil and he was overcome with the desperation of not wanting this to happen. He did not want this end to come.

"I don't want to go!" he cried out in anguish.

But it was too late. Nothing could be done. He had fought it for as long as possible, but could delay it no longer. His body almost appeared to burst into flames as his life's energy that was his Tenth self poured out of him.

But not simply to vanish like smoke. Unknown to him, something incredible was beginning to happen. The TARDIS was gathering his essence and pulling it into her very heart.

He could feel the sensation of being pulled in two. He wasn't just changing into his Eleventh self, his Tenth self was being pulled away. It was taking all the power the TARDIS had to be able to do this, and it practically destroyed the ship. Flames shot from the console and parts of the coral structure came tumbling down as the TARDIS fought to give her Doctor this one last gift.

The Doctor cried out as the separation of the two intensified and then finally became complete. He was now aware of a new man standing in his place while he observed from above, like an out of body experience. He saw enough to know that this Eleventh Doctor was just fine as the new Time Lord exuberantly took inventory of his newly-formed body, before the Doctor felt himself being pulled into the Vortex and sent back in time.

Suddenly he could hear a chorus of words swirling and echoing around him as he made his fated journey.

"_I could do so much more. __**So**__** much**__** more**__! But this is what I get. My reward. Well it's not fair!"_

"_Maybe it's time you went home."_

"_The story never ends."_

He journeyed further back in the Vortex until he reached one year in the past, yet never left the TARDIS. His energy was now released and poured into the hand of destiny. He realized in this moment that this was always meant to be.

The body of his Tenth self once again took shape as he sat up like a shot, the TARDIS now in a similar state of distress as when he left the other just moments before.

He found himself face-to-face with Donna, a look of utter shock and disbelief on her face that matched his own feelings in this extraordinary moment.

"It's you!" she exclaimed in amazement.

"Oh, yes!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Familiar dialog accompanied by some rather interesting introspection. If we could have heard 10.5's thoughts during "Journey's End," I've convinced myself it would have gone something like this...**

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The Doctor was accustomed to his mind working in several directions at once, and he was simultaneously aware of three things: he was alive, he was naked, and the TARDIS was about to be destroyed.

He swiftly focused on taking care of the most pressing matter of saving the ship, and could then direct his attention elsewhere. Once they were out of harm's way, he quickly changed into his blue suit. But with his mind still whirling from what just had taken place, he didn't even take the time to put on a tie and assemble his usual wardrobe. He just grabbed the nearest thing he could find.

He knew exactly what was happening here. He'd lived it once before, after all. But his memory of the details was strangely fuzzy. He knew the Daleks were eventually defeated, he just wasn't sure how. He couldn't recall exactly what happened in this situation before, and he suspected that was the TARDIS' doing as well — to prevent a paradox by crossing his own timeline and having two versions of himself at the same place simultaneously. If he were to remember the exact details, he might be tempted to alter the events. But everything needed to play out exactly as it had because that's the way it was meant to happen. This was a fixed point in time, and he had learned the hard way not to muck with that.

At least this way he wouldn't be straining his memory to try and recall everything his double had said and done, like trying to follow a script. It had apparently been _this_ him here in this experience all along, and everything eventually worked out okay (he thinks). So he would just have to trust that and go with his instincts throughout this situation.

After getting dressed and repairing the TARDIS, he was feeling positively giddy! He still could not believe he had been given this second chance at life when he had been facing his death mere moments before. He was bounding around and babbling away about submarines and spanners and the color blue, all the while Donna was looking at him like he'd grown a second head.

He explained to her about his regeneration energy being poured into his spare hand (oh, how he love that hand!), and she thought he was just talking about pouring his excess energy into it when he was regenerating after being shot by the Dalek. He left out the details of the energy from his _other_ regeneration also going into the hand, because she was already looking at him like he was mad. And truth be told, he was having a hard enough time getting his mind around all of this himself.

During his explanation about the metacrisis, he soon discovered that he was part human and had only one heart. How could he have forgotten _that_? It was disgusting! But still, it could be worse. At least he was alive. There would be time to explore the changes in his new body later. Right now there were more pressing matters that needed to be attended to.

He now needed to try and do whatever he could to stop Davros and the Reality Bomb. He quickly set to work creating a Z-Neutrino Biological Inversion Catalyzer. If it worked, it should cause the biggest backfire in history. He set the coordinates to take the TARDIS back to the Dalek Crucible, and wasted no time putting his plan for using the weapon into action. He reasoned to himself that he couldn't just sit back and assume everything would work itself out without him having a hand in helping to resolve this.

He knew exactly where to land the TARDIS: in the Crucible vault, because that's where he remembered his previous self and Rose being taken. He had once wondered how his double knew to bring the TARDIS to that precise spot. Now it all made sense.

He opened the TARDIS door, stepped out and ran without hesitation straight towards Davros. But his plan quickly went awry as he found himself trapped in a holding cell, the weapon destroyed.

_Right,_ he thought to himself, _that obviously wasn't the solution to this._ If only he had remembered that a little sooner.

He soon learned the resolution to all this would come from Donna. Brilliant Donna. He now remembered that part of it. But the two-way biological metacrisis would cost her the memories she had of her time with him. Yet somehow, the pain of that didn't sting as much as it once did. Less than a few hours ago, he had come from seeing Donna on her wedding day, and he didn't think he had ever seen her so full of joy. She was happy, truly happy. She had someone to love her as she deserved, and he had also seen to it that she would be taken care of for the rest of her life thanks to his little gift to her. He watched now with pride as she stepped in and saved the day.

He, Donna and his other self then began the task of sending the twenty-seven planets back home, but lost the Magnatron before being able to return the Earth. While the Doctor's other self ran into the TARDIS to make modifications, he stayed outside at the controls to hold Earth's stability and maintain the atmospheric shell.

It was then that Dalek Caan began telling him that the prophecy must be completed. The Doctor began to realize what he must do. He then remembered what had happened and his disgust when he learned what his duplicate had done; afterwards, however, he had realized that he would have done the same thing if he had been in that position. Now he was. He knew now that there was no other way. The Daleks must be stopped. It wasn't a decision he reached lightly, but it was one he made without hesitation.

The words he had once spoken to Jackie when he and Rose had been trapped in Ten Downing Street echoed in his mind. "_This is my life. It's not fun and it's not smart. It's just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will_."

It was always meant to happen this way.

He must fulfill the prophecy.

Realizing what he was about to do, Donna tried to get him to wait for the 'other' Doctor.

His head snapped up and he looked at her intensely. "I _am_ the Doctor," he replied firmly. No one knew just how true that was.

He quickly began setting the controls for what had to be done. "Maximizing Dalekanium power feeds. Blasting them BACK!"

His previous self ran out of the TARDIS in alarm, horrified to learn what he had done. He remembered being the one in that position and the anger he felt at realizing his duplicate had committed genocide by destroying the Daleks.

"What have you done?" his previous self yelled.

He looked himself in the eyes, knowing one day he would understand. "Fulfilling the prophecy," he stated evenly.

He then ran to the TARDIS and began ushering in the others. He again remembered being his other self and watching as he joyfully greeted everyone at the door. He wondered at the time how this version of him could have been so ecstatic in the midst of all this destruction. But he didn't then understand all that he had just come through. Just hours ago he had seen these dear friends for what he thought was the final time. Yet here he was seeing them all again at the beginning of his new life.

He guided them in one by one, grinning widely as the thoughts of those sorrowful farewells were now replaced by the joy of this moment.

"Sarah Jane! Rose! Jackie! Jack! Mickeeeey!" Oh, Mickey was going to have quite a brilliant future ahead with Martha, he thought to himself happily as he ushered him past.

He then got to re-live that glorious moment of towing the Earth back home, knowing this time that when it was all over he wouldn't be left standing alone in the TARDIS. That life was now behind him. This time, he would be the one who was able to stay with Rose as he desperately wished he could have the first time and wouldn't have to walk away. He was about to get his reward. He couldn't hide the beaming smile he gave Donna as she stood beside him and he thought about how fantastic this was. He couldn't remember the last time he felt such joy.

After Sarah Jane, Jack, Martha and Mickey had been returned to Earth, his former self rejoined them at the console and announced it was time for one last trip. His face suddenly took on a worried look. This was it, he thought to himself. He had been okay up to this point with not being able to recall the details of what had happened. But now he wanted desperately to remember what had been said. What if Rose rejected him? What if she had turned her back on him and walked away as his first self had done to her? If only he could remember what he had said to her. But past memories or no, he realized all he could do was just speak to her from his heart when the time came.

Once they arrived, he stepped out of the TARDIS and happily gazed around at this world that would now be his new home. Rose, however, wasn't looking quite as joyful about this as he was.

"Hold on, this is the parallel universe, right?" she asked.

"You're back home," his former self replied.

Donna spoke up. **"**And the walls of the world are closing again now that the Reality Bomb never happened. It's dimensional retro-closure. See, I really get that stuff now." He couldn't help but smile at her. Brilliant Donna.

Meanwhile, Rose was looking increasingly distraught. _"_No, but...I spent all that time trying to find you, I'm not going back now!" This wasn't looking good. Had Rose really been this upset?

His former self responded. _"_But you've got to. Because we saved the universe, but at a cost. And the cost is destroyed the Daleks. He committed genocide. He's too dangerous to be left on his own."

He certainly didn't remember saying _that_! Had he really been so thick back then? **"**You made me!" he couldn't help but point out, despite the absurdity of essentially having an argument with _himself_.

"Exactly. You were born in battle – full of blood and anger and revenge." He then looked at Rose. "Remind you of someone? That's me when we first met." That gave him pause for thought. Oh, the irony of it all. He really _had_ just met Rose for the first time only a few hours ago when he saw her for what he thought would be the last time. "And you made me better. Now you can do the same for him."

Rose swallowed past the lump in her throat and fought back tears. "But he's not you," she breathed. The Doctor's heart clenched painfully at her words. He would soon explain it all to her. He really _was_ the same man, just a future version.

"He needs you," his past self replied emphatically. "That's very _me_." Truer words were never spoken. He had come to realize just how desperately he did need her during his time spent alone. And as his mind flashed back to thoughts of The Time Lord Victorious, a feeling of shame washing over him, he realized maybe he _was_ too dangerous to be left on his own.

"But it's better than that, though," Donna interjected. "Don't you see what he's trying to give you? Tell her, go on," she prompted him.

The Doctor swallowed hard. He couldn't explain it all right then. Not with his past self standing there to hear about his future — paradoxes and all that. But he could explain to her the brilliant possibility this would give them for a future together. He looked into her eyes, willing her to understand. "I look like him, I think like him... same memories, same thoughts, same _everything_. Except, I've only got one heart."

"Which means?" Rose asked.

She had once promised to spend the rest of her life with him. He could now offer her the same thing, if she would accept him. "I'm part Human. Specifically the aging part. I'll grow old and never regenerate. I've only got one life, Rose Tyler. I could spend it with you...if you want."

"You'll g-grow old at the same time as me?" she asked, somewhat disbelieving.

"Together," he assured her.

She stepped closer to him and placed her hand over his single heart. The heart that belonged fully to her. He lost himself in her eyes and the feel of her hand resting over his heart. It was as if they were the only two people in existence at that moment.

"Oh, and don't forget this," his past self called out to them as he held out a piece of TARDIS coral. "This universe is in need of defending. Chunk of TARDIS — grow your own."

He tossed it to him. He was bemused by this, still not remembering. "But that takes thousands of years," he objected.

Donna spoke up to explain. "No, because if you shatterfry the plasmic shell and modify the dimensional stabilizer to a foldback harmonic of 36.3, you accelerate the growth by the power of 59!"

He exchanged an astounded look with his other self. "We never thought of that," they said in unison.

"I'm just brilliant," Donna replied, giving her best impersonation of the Doctor.

His other self looked at him and Rose and smiled wistfully as he pictured them having the life he thought he never could. Little did he know, this would one day belong to him. "The Doctor in the TARDIS with Rose Tyler, just as it should be."

This really was as it should be. It might have taken a long and winding journey to get here, even having to come to the end of his life before he could reach this new beginning. But at last, all was finally starting to seem right with the universe.

"But...what about you?" Rose asked his other self, still unable to let him go. Unaware that by letting him go, he would one day return to her again.

"Oh, I'm fine," he lied. "I've still got Madame." He indicated Donna.

"Human with a Time Lord brain," Donna said happily. "It's the perfect combination. We can travel the universe forever, as best friends...and equals. That's just what old skinny boy needs — an equal."

Just then the TARDIS made a sound that let them know it was time.

"We've got to go," his other self said. "This reality's sealing itself off. Forever."

Rose didn't yet understand that this was the way it was always meant to be. That this was _right_. _"_But it's still not right. Because...the Doctor's...still you," she protested.

"And I'm _him_," his other self insisted, not yet realizing just how true that statement was.

"All right. Both of you, answer me this," Rose said, as they both stepped forward to stand on either side of her, mirror images. One man with a journey still to complete, the other having made that journey of sacrifice and now able to give himself fully to Rose without the universe standing in his way. **"**When I last stood on this beach on the worst day of my life, what was the last thing you said to me?" She looked pointedly at his other self. "Go on, say it," she prompted.

He could remember it all now. He remembered how he desperately wanted to say those words, but instead buried them deep inside. He just could not do it. He couldn't say it and then walk away.

"I said, 'Rose Tyler'," was all his other self could manage.

"Yeah, and how was that sentence gonna end?" she asked, not allowing him to once again leave it at that.

"Does it need saying?" Oh, what a coward he had been. _Yes_, it needed saying. He knew it then and he knew it now. And now he would finally get that chance.

Rose finally turned to him then. _"_And you, Doctor? What was the end of that sentence?"

This was the moment. The chance he thought he would never again have. And he was NOT going to have any regrets this time around. He would finally tell her what he had wanted to say for so long. These words were for her, and her alone. He gently placed his hand on her arm as he leaned forward and whispered those precious words in her ear.

"Rose Tyler, I love you," he said from the depths of his soul.

He pulled back a fraction, both gazing intently into each other's eyes. It was almost as if she could see it all in that moment. Without hesitation, Rose grabbed him by the lapels and kissed him. _Him_! This time he wasn't watching from the sidelines as his double held in his arms what he had only ever dreamt of. No, this time the moment finally belonged to him.

"_Maybe it's time you went home." _Rose's earlier words to him as he had been dying resonated back and he realized in this moment that he was _finally_ home.

But the moment ended all too soon as Rose abruptly broke the kiss, suddenly realizing with a start that the other Doctor was gone. She let go of him and ran towards the TARDIS as it dematerialized and faded away. He slowly made his way over to her and took her hand in his, silently letting her know he was still here and would not leave her. Not this time. She turned her head and looked into his eyes as he gazed back at her, hurt and confusion evident on her face.

Now he was going to have some explaining to do.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Doctor finally reveals everything to Rose, but it doesn't go quite as well as he had hoped.**

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The sound of the TARDIS dematerializing echoed on the wind around them, then faded into silence. The silence hung thickly between them as they continued to gaze at each other, neither one quite knowing what to say or where to begin. The Doctor had been anticipating this moment when he could finally tell Rose everything, but now that it was here and he stared into her searching eyes, he found himself uncharacteristically speechless.

Rose continued to grip his hand tightly in hers because it was all she had. As a single tear rolled down her cheek, the Doctor raised his left hand to wipe it away, but she quickly dried it with her free hand as his fell limply back at his side. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to finally say something, but Rose cut him off.

"He left me," she said, her voice breaking. "He just walked away...forever and didn't even say goodbye!"

The Doctor turned so he was standing face-to-face with her, his hand still firmly grasping hers as he placed his other on her shoulder. "I didn't leave you, Rose," he said gently but with conviction, imploring her to understand. "I'm right here."

Her earlier words of, "_But he's not you_" still lingered in the air between them. Rose drew in a long breath before she responded. "I know you're both the same now. I'm...I'm trying to understand that," she began, her eyes dropping a fraction so she didn't have to look in the eyes of this familiar stranger. "But _he's_ still gone."

He bent down slightly, attempting to look in her downcast eyes. "But you don't understand, Rose. I'm _not _gone. I—"

Rose didn't let him finish. She cut him off as she shook her head and took a step back. "I'm just so confused right now. I can't even think. I just...I just need some time, yeah?" Her head was spinning and she felt like she just needed to put some distance between them at the moment so she could try and make some sense of her muddled thoughts. She couldn't do that while the face of the man who had just abandoned her was in front of her eyes.

The Doctor started to nod, but before he could say anything she removed her hand from his and headed off down the beach. He swallowed hard as he watched her go. Rose sat down on a rock a few meters away and stared out across the water, her arms wrapped around her knees as she drew them up to her chest. Jackie came back over and stood beside him.

"Just give her some time. She'll come around, yeah?" she said reassuringly. The Doctor just silently nodded his head. "I talked to Pete. He'll be here to get us in the morning. In the meantime, a cab's on its way to pick us up. The road's about a half mile up the shore," she indicated in that direction. "It'll take us to a hotel a few miles from here. It's where we stayed the last time."

The Doctor's thoughts drifted to _the last time_. Rose had been so broken that day as well. So had he. He wanted to fix that now. He wanted to make everything alright, if only she would let him. Once he had a chance to explain everything to her, he hoped everything would be _more_ than alright — fantastic. But like Jackie said, right now Rose just needed some time.

"I'll go tell Rose," Jackie said as she headed off to where Rose was sitting.

He watched as Jackie approached and enveloped her in an embrace. Rose was crying, and seeing her like this broke the Doctor's now single heart. Ever since the day that he, his earlier self, had turned and walked away leaving Rose behind, he desperately tried to put out of his mind what it might have done to her, what her reaction might have been. Now he was seeing it first-hand. He had hoped his other self had soothed the pain he caused and made everything alright for her. That job was now up to him, and he supposed it was only right that it should be.

After several minutes together, Jackie left Rose and came back over to where the Doctor was still standing, his hands deep in his pockets and looking a little lost.

"Go to her," she encouraged.

He slowly drew his hands out of his pockets and made his way over to Rose. She didn't look up as he sat down beside her on the large rock, both staring out at the ocean. He turned towards her and took her hand in his, massaging gentle circles on the top of her hand with his thumb. Rose finally turned her head to him and looked into his eyes, her own eyes painfully red from recent tears.

"Rose," he began as he exhaled deeply, "there is _so_ much I need to say to you, but I'm having a hard time just finding the words."

"I know," she replied with a strangled laugh as she dropped her eyes briefly, then raised them back to his, almost shyly, feeling in some ways this man in the blue suit was a stranger. "I'm not sure what to say either."

He paused for a moment. "It's me," he said simply. "_Really_ me." She opened her mouth to respond but he raised his hand for her to wait as he continued. "Oh, I've been waiting to tell you this, Rose. I don't just mean a copy of myself. I'm a future version of myself existing at the same time as my past self. At least for the next year, anyway," he added quietly. "So technically, in a way, there's really only ever been just the one me."

Rose wrinkled her brow in total confusion as the Doctor blew out a breath in frustration. "That made _much_ more sense before I actually said it out loud. Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff can _really_ give you a headache," he muttered as he shook his head.

The Doctor took a deep breath once more as he continued. "This is difficult to explain, so just...hear me through." Rose still didn't understand just what it was he was trying to say, but she nodded for him to continue. "The version of me that left in the TARDIS, _that_ was _me_. At least it used to be. I was the one who had to walk away and leave you behind. I was him, Rose. I've lived this once before but experienced it from the other perspective. I went on...alone. But my time was running out. I kept hearing it everywhere I went, kept being told that my song would end soon. I continued traveling in the TARDIS, running from my past and running from my future until they both caught up with me." He stopped and looked deeply into her eyes before he went on. "And then I reached the end of the line, and I couldn't run anymore. I thought that was the end, but it was just the beginning." He took her other hand in his and gently squeezed them both as a wide smile came over his face. "Oh, Rose," he said excitedly, "_this_ is the brilliant part! I died, and—"

Roses eyes went wide as her look of confusion became a look of alarm. "You died! You died and that's brilliant?" She shook her head. "Doctor, I don't think I understand any of what you're trying to say here."

"I'm still trying to get my head around all this myself," he admitted. "But Rose, I've been given the most amazing chance. A _second_ chance. A year from now, in the other universe, I was dying. And as I was regenerating and _that_ me was slipping away, I was somehow drawn into the heart of the TARDIS and sent back into _this_ body as it was being formed. I understand it all now. That's why the TARDIS shut Donna inside back on the Crucible because she was needed to touch the jar containing the energy, giving that final, necessary spark for all this to be complete. I didn't die...I was reborn!" he exclaimed joyously.

Suddenly, what it was he had been trying to say finally clicked into place. Her mouth hung open in utter shock. Rose looked down at their joined hands then back up to his face. "So...so what you're saying is...you're the _same_ man?"

"Oh, yes!" he said brightly, grinning widely.

"The same man who just walked away and _left_ me without so much as a goodbye," she continued, her voice beginning to rise.

"Ah..." His smile quickly faded. "Well, yes...but...I'm here!" He tried to recover the enthusiasm.

"Did you know this was gonna happen like this?" she questioned, struggling to make some sense of it all.

"Not the first time around, no."

Rose dropped his hands and stood up in front of him as she began to pace, trying to work through the flood of thoughts that were racing in her mind.

"Why did you do it? Why did you just get in the TARDIS and leave me behind without even giving me a choice?" she asked, hurt mixing with anger as she spoke.

The Doctor stood up and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Rose," he said gently, "I thought it was best this way."

"_You_ thought it was best!" she responded angrily. "Why did you think that was your decision to make?"

"But don't you see this was the only way, Rose?" He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "There were so many reasons. This way you wouldn't have to sacrifice your family. And you could be with a version of me who could grow old with you and have a lifetime that would match."

He reached for her hand once more. He felt her tense but she didn't pull away. "And this way you would be safe," he said softly. "I knew my time was running short. I had already been told that my song would end soon, and I knew something was approaching, I could feel it. I didn't want you to be a part of that, Rose. And if you had stayed with me, you might not have survived what was coming. And even if you had, you wouldn't have been with this version of me for much longer. I would have become a new man. But _this_ me is the one who was meant to be with you. I became this version of me for _you_ the first time. I think my Tenth self was always destined for you, Rose," he said with all the sincerity that he was feeling.

"But I would've always stayed with you no matter what. Even if you changed," Rose said as her voice softened.

"I know," he replied gently. "But this is the way it was always meant to be. Ever since I first became this man and lost my hand in that sword fight, the events were set in motion to give us this life together."

Rose looked down at that hand for a long moment, trying to process all he had said. She then slowly released it and turned back towards the ocean, her arms wrapped protectively around herself. He didn't say anything, just stood watching. He knew she needed a moment to collect her thoughts. Finally, she turned back to him, her expression unreadable.

"If things hadn't gone this way, if there had never been two of you, would you have still tried to send me back?" she questioned, needing to know the answer to this.

He considered his reply for several moments as he gazed over her shoulder and out towards the water. "I...I don't know," he said quietly.

Rose narrowed her eyes. "You would have, wouldn't you?" she challenged.

He shifted his eyes back to her. "You would have been with your family, and you would have been safe," he said firmly.

Rose shook her head. "So it would have been Satellite Five and Canary Wharf all over again," she said with bitterness. "And when will it ever stop? How many times are you gonna send me away from you because _you_ decide it's for my own good?"

"It's not going to be like that now," he tried to assure her.

She laughed bitterly. "Well, I've heard that before. After I met Sarah Jane, I asked if you were gonna leave me behind like all the others, and you said _no_, not _you_. But that's all you've done!" she said angrily. "So many times I'm starting to lose count!" Rose turned away from him once again.

"Would you rather I let you _die_?" he asked forcefully, becoming riled.

She snapped her head back to him and locked onto his eyes with an intense gaze. "I _did_ die," she responded, her voice solemn. "_Every_ _time_ you left me, I died a little more inside. I don't know if there's much of me left to survive it again."

They both just stood there for a long moment in intense silence. Finally, Jackie came back over to them.

"We better get movin', you two, or we'll miss the cab. And I don't know about you, but I've had enough of this bloody beach."

Rose finally broke eye contact with the Doctor and focused on Jackie. "Yeah. I've had enough, too," she said quietly, then began heading up in the direction of the road as Jackie turned to follow. The Doctor stood there for a moment, then shoved his hands in his pockets and slowly followed behind.

His entire life the Doctor had been a man who had always run and never looked back. He'd never had to deal with the aftermath. Now for the first time in his life he was going to have to face the consequences of that.

There was no running away this time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you so much to everyone who continues to read and review! Knowing others are enjoying this gives me such encouragement!**

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The cab ride to the hotel began in awkward silence, so the Doctor was relieved when Jackie took up the slack and began chattering away to him about their life here. She mainly focused on telling him about the newest member of the Tyler family, little Tony. This unfortunately led to her going into a detailed account of giving birth.

The Doctor had already gone through quite a bit that day – a day which technically spanned two lifetimes. He'd faced down the Master and even Rassilon himself, been poisoned by radiation, said final goodbyes to his beloved friends, experienced the pain of dying, became a new man — yet at the same time remained the same, had to face Davros and the Daleks _yet again, _and then realized the harsh reality that this brilliant, new life he'd envisioned having with Rose might not come so easily. So the last thing he needed to top-off this day was a graphic account of Jackie Tyler giving birth!

Fortunately for him, they arrived at the hotel before she could finish giving all of the gory details. As Jackie continued on, oblivious (or maybe not so oblivious) to his growing discomfort and began to mention forceps, he practically fell out of the cab in his haste to exit.

Rose would have found it amusing, but she was too preoccupied with her own churning thoughts to notice. They entered the hotel with Rose lagging behind. She had nothing but bad memories of this place. Pete had already called ahead and made reservations, so Jackie went to sign-in and get their keys. The Doctor kept glancing over at Rose who appeared to be avoiding eye-contact as she absentmindedly fumbled with the zipper on her jacket.

Jackie came back over to them with the keys and gave one to the Doctor. Jackie was about to ask Rose which room she wanted to stay in, hers or the Doctor's, when Rose reached for the other key and made the answer clear.

They were all feeling knackered, and Jackie suggested they order room service rather than eat in the dining room. They made their way up to their rooms which were across the hall from each other, and Rose quickly retreated into the one she would be sharing with her mum without saying another word to the Doctor.

Jackie sighed and turned to him. "This is gonna be hard for her, and she's been through so much already. Just give her some time." The Doctor just nodded, his shoulders slumped in defeat, and headed for his own room.

Jackie stepped into the other room and looked over to where Rose was standing by the window gazing out at the gray, dismal landscape.

"Do you want to talk about it, sweetheart?" she asked gently.

Rose turned towards her with red, swollen eyes. "He left me, Mum," she said, her voice breaking. Her words were an echo of those spoken on that Christmas Eve after her Ninth Doctor had regenerated. The pain of feeling like she had lost the Doctor was something she seemed to be forced to relive over and over again.

Jackie crossed the room to her and ran her hands up and down Rose's arms in a soothing manner. "I know the other Doctor did, but _this_ one is still here. It's not fair to blame him for what the other's done," she reasoned.

"But he's the _same_ man, Mum," Rose tried to explain.

"That's right, sweetheart," she said encouragingly. "He's the same in all the ways that matter most."

Rose shook her head. "No, you don't understand. He's _literally_ the same man. He explained it to me back on the beach. The Doctor that left today, he went on traveling until something happened and he was about to die. Then as he was regenerating, he was somehow able to go back and become _this_ Doctor."

Jackie puzzled over that for a long moment, not fully grasping it but finally latching onto the most important detail. "So he really _is_ the same then?"

"_Yes_," Rose replied, relieved that Jackie seemed to be getting it and could understand how she was feeling.

Jackie brightened. "Well that makes everything alright then, doesn't it? I mean, now you don't have to feel torn between the two of 'em, Right?"

Rose exhaled deeply. "It makes it alright in that sense, yes. And I'd feel happy about that except for the fact that it also means he's the same man who turned his back on me and left."

"But he's here now," Jackie pointed out.

"Yeah, _now_. But for how long? He keeps leaving me, Mum. It just seems to be what he does." She shrugged her shoulders in defeat. "How long before he does it again? I can't keep going through this."

Jackie reached up and stroked her hair. "I've seen the way he looks at you, Rose. And it's obvious what it was he whispered to you earlier back on that beach. He couldn't say it before, but he could now. That means he's changed. I don't think this is a man who's gonna leave you. Not again."

"But you can't know that," Rose said wearily.

"There are no guarantees in life, sweetheart. But if you two are gonna have a future together, you'll have to trust him."

A knock sounded at the door and Jackie went to answer it. It was room service with the food that had been ordered. Jackie got everything set up and encouraged Rose to come eat something.

"I'm not hungry, Mum," she said tiredly. "I've crossed so many parallel worlds in the past few days that I've lost count, and I haven't even changed clothes for two days. More than anything right now I just want a hot bath."

Jackie smiled sympathetically. "Go on then, sweetheart. You'll feel better afterwards."

Rose went into the bathroom and began filling the tub as she peeled off her clothes. She realized she didn't even have anything to change into and would have to put the same thing back on, but at least she'd be clean underneath. She stepped into the tub and sank down into the hot water, hoping she could relax and clear her thoughts enough to start making some sense of this situation.

She had spent nearly three years trying to get back to the Doctor. She fought through so many setbacks and disappointments along the way, and now that she had _finally_ found him again, things weren't exactly turning out the way she had expected.

She felt so confused. Even though there were two versions of the Doctor now, this human/Time Lord Doctor was still the same man. Okay, she was starting to grasp that. And her mum was right, that eased the pain of making her feel like she had to choose between the two. She didn't have to feel like half of her heart was still out there somewhere. Though in a way, she still felt like that, which only added to her confusion. But according to what the Doctor told her, the man she was now missing would come back to her in a year's time, which for her was today.

Rose rubbed her forehead as it began to throb from just trying to make sense of that. Oh, the Doctor was right — this could give a person such a headache! She took a deep breath, held it, and submerged herself underwater hoping to drown out the confusion of it all. She came back up for air and began trying to work through the other jumbled emotions she was feeling.

She was hurt. Even if one Doctor stayed, how could the other walk away if they were both the same man and felt the same way towards her? Oh, she knew the reasons the Doctor had given, but that just made her fear all the more that he could one day leave her again.

He runs. That's what he does. That's who he is. Could he really settle for this life now? But still, he had said the words. Those words she had only ever dreamt of hearing. Unfortunately, it came only seconds before he (at least one version of him) walked away and left her. But she knew her mum was right — if they were going to have a chance at a future, she was going to have to trust him when he said that he was now here to stay.

She trusted the Doctor with her life. Could she trust him with her heart? Rose realized she didn't have a choice because her heart unquestionably belonged to him. As confusing or hurtful or infuriating as he could sometimes be, she was completely and hopelessly in love with him. And deep in her heart she knew he was worth it. Despite everything she'd been through, he was worth it all.

She had missed him so much during their separation that there wasn't a day that went by where she didn't feel a physical ache from that. She had longed to see him, be with him, and just hear his voice again. Even if he could never reciprocate the declaration of love she had spoken when they said their goodbye, she was willing to give up everything just to be with him again. Now it seemed they could have the kind of life together she had only ever dreamt of.

They were still going to have some issues to work through — that much was certain. But she was starting to believe that maybe they could make this work. She was also staring to wish she hadn't left him alone once they'd gotten here. There was so much they still needed to talk about. But more than anything, she just wanted, _needed_ to be with him. She needed to assure herself that he was really here with her. They had spent so long apart separated by two universes, and now that they were finally together, _she_ had put distance between them.

Rose quickly got out of the tub, changed back into her black trousers and dark pink shirt, and began drying her hair. She might still be confused and still be hurt, but in spite of all that one thing was certain: she still loved him.

-:-:-:-

The Doctor wandered around his room absentmindedly taking in his surroundings. The hotel wasn't posh by any standards, but he'd certainly stayed in worse in his time. He thought about what it must have been like for Rose the first time she stayed here after making the journey to say goodbye to him. This _wasn't_ the way he was hoping it would be the second time around. So many times he had thought about the life Rose and his duplicate were having together and had envied his other self. This certainly wasn't the storybook beginning he had pictured them having together as he sat in this room alone with Rose not even speaking to him.

He was still somewhat in a state of disbelief that all this had really happened. Part of him wanted to throw open the window and shout to the world that he was alive! But he doubted many others would share his enthusiasm or be able to grasp the significance of what had happened to him. And his enthusiasm was somewhat dampened by Rose's current feelings.

He sighed deeply as he sat down on the bed and began emptying his pockets. Fortunately, he kept a spare sonic screwdriver, pair of brainy specs, and psychic paper in each suit. He removed the chunk of TARDIS coral and held it reverently in his hands. He was acutely aware of the loss of the TARDIS — almost like a physical ache. But he had been without Rose, and he'd been without his ship; and if he had to choose, he would take Rose. And he wouldn't be without his ship forever. It would take a few years, but one day they would have the TARDIS again. That is, if Rose still wanted to travel with him. At the moment he wasn't even sure.

As he shrugged off his suit jacket, he discovered, much to his horror, that this new, part human body apparently had _body odor_. Well wasn't that wizard! As the expression flew into his head he realized he was going to have to tame those little bits of Donna in him. He already had a reputation for being a bit rude at times, and with Donna's lip thrown in he might find himself in danger of being slapped on a more frequent basis. He gave himself a once-over with the sonic to take care of his odor issue. He always preferred sonic showers to the water version anyway. Much more efficient.

He then began cataloging the differences this new body had. With the exception of the one heart, he felt very much the same. His mental capacity hadn't diminished. Still a genius, no change there. And all of his heightened Time Lord senses seemed to be intact, although perhaps distracted by these new human sensations. Even though he still felt the same emotionally, his emotions seemed a bit harder to restrain, bubbling just that little bit closer to the surface. And he feared his hormones might be a bit more difficult to control. Although, would that be such a bad thing? It all depended on Rose and how things progressed with their relationship. At the moment, his hormones were just going to have to take a back seat.

He came to the conclusion that he was about one-quarter human, the rest still Time Lord. And although he would grow old and no longer regenerate, he felt content with that idea. He once said that some people live more in twenty years than others do in eighty. It's not the time that matters, it's the person. No matter how comparatively brief his lifespan may now be, he intended to live each day to the fullest. No more regrets. And whenever he did reach the end of his life, he knew this time he wouldn't be alone. That gave him more peace than the thought of centuries of solitude ever had.

But first and foremost for him, he needed to make things right with Rose. He knew he was going to hurt her when he walked away the last time. He supposed it was only fitting that he was now the one who had to deal with the consequences and try to rectify the situation. How could he make her see that even though he had left, he desperately wanted to stay? And now that he was here, he wasn't planning to _ever_ leave her again — not if he had anything to say about it.

As he pondered those thoughts, he heard a soft knock at the door. He stood up and crossed the room, half expecting it to be Jackie and not wanting to get his hopes too high that it would be Rose. As he opened the door, relief washed over his face to see that it was indeed Rose.

"Rose," he greeted in surprise.

"Hi," she said almost timidly as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth.

They stood there for a moment in awkward silence, the Doctor with a goofy, wide-eyed expression on his face, then he finally snapped to his senses and stepped aside to invite her in.

He cleared his throat. "Come in," he said brightly as he gestured into the room with a sweeping motion of his hand.

She hesitated for just a second, then stepped through the door into his room. He closed the door behind her as she turned to face him.

"So..."

"So...," they both spoke in unison. Rose chuckled nervously and shifted back and forth on her feet.

The Doctor came closer and lightly touched her arm. "Why don't we sit?" he suggested as he gestured to one of the beds. Rose nodded as they sat down together.

Rose let out a deep breath. "I suppose we still have a lot to talk about, to say the least," she said as she gazed down at her hands folded in her lap.

The Doctor reached over and covered her hands with his own. "Rose, I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry," he said gently. "And if I have to spend the rest of this life making it up to you, I will."

Rose lifted her head to look at him. "I just don't want to spend my life wondering when you're gonna leave me again," she admitted.

"That's not going to happen," he assured her. "I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere — at least not without you."

Rose didn't reply as she dropped her eyes once more.

"You don't believe me, do you?" he asked softly.

She took a deep breath. "I want to believe you. I mean, yeah, you're here now. But you didn't have a choice this time. Your 'other' self made the decision for you. But when the decision had been up to you, you chose to leave."

"But that wasn't the choice I _wanted_ to make," he insisted. "And I knew I wasn't leaving you alone. I was leaving you with _myself_. And I'm sorry I had to walk away and leave so quickly the way I did. Those were the hardest steps I ever had to take." He glanced away as he spoke softly. "But I thought it was better that way."

"It made me feel like you didn't even care," she stated quietly.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice and his eyes remorseful. "I never wanted you to feel that way. Never. But the walls between universes were closing and there just wasn't time. I couldn't risk—"

"Being trapped here with me?" she interrupted.

He sighed. "That was the tempting part. But I couldn't risk trapping Donna here away from her family." Then a look of sadness crossed his face. "And I needed to act quickly if I was going to save her."

"What'd you mean?"

He ran a hand down his face and paused a moment before he replied. Even with Donna now happy and having a fantastic life, the memory of what he had to do was still painful. "The metacrisis was affecting her mind. She couldn't handle that for very long. A human with a Time Lord brain just couldn't be." Rose looked concerned, thinking what that might mean for him, but he went on to explain. "It's different for me — _this_ me. I'm a Time Lord with a bit of human thrown in. But she was human with just a bit of Time Lord, and her mind couldn't handle it. All of that knowledge was killing her. So I had to take those memories from her, including the ones she had of me."

"You had to erase her memories of being with you?" Rose asked in alarm.

He nodded. "Yes. It was the only way."

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

Rose sat there for a minute processing this. "So, the other you is out there alone right now."

"I brought Donna back to her family and had to travel on alone," he admitted, remembering the anguish he felt at the time, being completely alone and having no one.

"Did you know that was gonna happen to her before you left here?" she asked.

He took a deep breath. "Yes."

Rose stood up and ran a hand through her hair in anxiety. "So you lied to me," she said, becoming more upset. "_'Oh, I'm fine. I've got Madame'. _Does that ring a bell? Why did you say that knowing you would be alone?" she asked.

The Doctor stood up beside her. "Because I wanted you to be happy. I wanted you to have a fantastic life and not worry about me."

"Even if it meant lying to me?" she replied in exasperation.

Rose turned away and walked over to the window gazing out blankly for a moment, then turned back towards him. "Have you ever once spoken the truth to me?" she asked dejectedly, her words and her eyes filled with pain.

The Doctor couldn't blame Rose for feeling that way. But there was one thing he wanted to be certain she had no doubts about.

He crossed the room and took her hand in his. "Yes," he said with conviction as his eyes gazed intently into hers. "When I whispered those words to you today on the beach."

She searched his face and could see the bare honesty and the truth of his words as her eyes began to fill with tears. He reached out and pulled her into an embrace. "I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair. "I'm rubbish at this, I know. But I want to try to make things right from now on. Will you give me that chance?"

Rose pulled back a fraction and looked into his eyes. Whatever happened in the past, whatever mistakes he had made, she wanted to try to move past that. He was here now. They were finally, _miraculously_ together again after being apart for so long.

Rose nodded slightly. "Yeah," she breathed. "I think I can do that." There was so much more she wanted to say, but that was all she could manage at the moment.

Tears rolled down her cheeks and a slight sob escaped her lips as she wrapped her arms back around him and hugged him tight, breathing in his scent and wanting to shut out everything else and simply lose herself in the feel of his strong arms securely around her. For so long she had ached for the feel of being in his arms again. "I missed you," she whispered, her voice shuddering. "I missed you _so_ much!"

"I know," he whispered back. "I missed you, too. Oh, you have no idea. But I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere this time. I promise."

After several moments, they slowly withdrew from each other's embrace, and then it seemed neither one knew quite what to do next. There was an almost tangible energy cracking in the air between them. Their relationship had progressed in this single day by leaps and bounds beyond what it used to be. But the long-awaited revelation of the Doctor's feelings for Rose had suddenly put them in unfamiliar territory to their former "friends only" relationship.


	5. Chapter 5

**Less angst by the end of this chapter, but there are quite a few twists and turns yet to come. ;)**

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The unpleasant tension between the Doctor and Rose was quickly replaced by a _different_ kind of tension, and the Doctor could feel his hormones beginning to surge. But he could also sense Rose's slight apprehension. After leaving her the way he had, it was going to take some time to regain her trust. She had just started speaking to him again, and the last thing he wanted to do was scare her off by not being able to control himself and trying to take things too far.

And to be honest, he was feeling a bit apprehensive himself, despite what his hormones were saying. Keeping his emotions closely guarded and not allowing himself to act upon his desires for Rose had been a way of life for him before. The idea that he could now finally let those walls come down was going to take some getting used to.

Rose glanced around the room with a bit of uncertainty, knowing what she wanted to ask but not wanting him to misinterpret and think she was ready to just jump ahead with things. She cleared her throat. "Could I...could I stay here with you tonight? I mean, just to be near you and to talk," she quickly added. "Now that I finally have you back, I don't want to be away from you again."

The Doctor smiled widely, relieved that she wanted to stay with him. "I was hoping you'd say that."

"Yeah?" she replied, the tip of her tongue peeking out between her teeth as she grinned.

"Yes," he answered, still smiling. Oh, how he'd missed her. Missed everything about her. Her smile had been gone from his life for far too long. Now that he had her back, he didn't want to ever let go.

But then a slight look of worry crossed his face. "This isn't going to put me in danger of being slapped by your mum, is it?" he asked cautiously.

A smile tugged at her lips. "I don't think she was expecting me back in the other room tonight," she admitted. The Doctor flashed her a grin and suppressed the reply of "_quite right, too._"

They kicked off their shoes and settled onto one of the beds together, both propped against the headboard but leaning on their sides to face each other.

"Hello," he said softly, a silly grin plastered on his face.

"Hi," Rose chuckled lightly as she glanced down then back up to his face.

"I guess we have some catching up to do," he said.

"Yeah," she agreed. "It's been over two years for me, and I suppose even longer for you."

The Doctor took a deep breath. "Rose Tyler," he said whimsically, as he reached forward to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear, a tender gesture that made Rose's stomach flip-flop. "look at you now. You're so strong and beautiful and independent. Not that you weren't always those things. But you've blossomed and grown and discovered who you are apart from me."

"You helped make me who I am," she said, as she reached across the bed to lace her fingers through his, causing a feeling of pleasure mixed with relief to go through him at her initiating the contact. "If it hadn't been for you, I'd probably still be working in a shop somewhere."

"This was always who you were, Rose," he said proudly, stroking her hand with his thumb.

"But it took you to show me that. That's what you do for the lives of everyone you touch," she said, echoing the words she had spoken about him to Donna. "And you gave me the strength to continue on when we were apart and to find a way back to you." He smiled softly at this.

Rose glanced down at their entwined fingers, then lifted her eyes back to his, searching for a way to word the question that was on her mind. "You said...that is, the _other_ you...oh, this is so confusing," she laughed softly. "When you said you were...dangerous, did you believe that?"

He blew out a breath. "I was a bit hard on myself, wasn't I?" he said lightly. Then his face became serious once again. "But I had destroyed the Daleks. I didn't understand then that it was the only way. But I realized later it's what had to be done, and that if I had been in the same position I knew I would've had to do the same thing. And I did." He sighed deeply. "It wasn't what I wanted to do, but it was what I had to do. I know that now."

His eyes then drifted away from hers as a distant, almost haunted look came over his face. His voice was low as he spoke. "But I was right when I said I was too dangerous to be left on my own. Donna once said that sometimes I need someone to stop me, and she was right," he confessed darkly, as memories of Mars and Bowie Base One flashed in his mind. He then locked eyes with hers once again. "I do need you, Rose. That is and always will be _very me."_

He knew the time would come to tell her of all that took place while he was on his own. All the events his past self was now beginning to live. But first they started at the beginning. Rose began telling him about her life here. About her work with Torchwood and the Dimension Cannon; and he listened with pride at all she had accomplished.

The Doctor then told Rose of his travels with Martha and then Donna. They finally reached the point of today, and he began telling, with a bit of hesitation, about his time spent alone. He couldn't look her in the eyes when he reached the point of telling her of Adelaide Brooke.

"I think I went a bit mad," he confessed grimly. "I was just so sick and tired of it all. Tired of watching people die and planets burn and everything turn to dust. Tired of losing. So I decided I was going to win; decided that the Laws of Time were mine to control." He stared off blankly, his face shrouded in shame. "And I made a woman take her own life," he all but whispered.

He was beginning to wonder if he deserved to be with Rose at all. Maybe there was just too much darkness in him. It was asking too much of her to say she could make him better. That was too much to ask of anyone. But she _did_ make him better, just by her very presence in his life. Yet in this moment he didn't feel deserving of that.

Rose could see his countenance darken, his features tense in the dim light of the bedside lamp as he slipped into a brooding mood. She didn't want him to shutdown, shut her out, and internalize his feelings as he was so known to do in the past. She released his hand and reached up to touch his face, bringing him back to the here and now. "Hey," she said gently. "You were trying to save them."

He shook his head. "I was trying to _control_ them," he replied. "My time was almost up after that and I knew it. I couldn't keep on much longer after what I'd done. The universe would demand restitution." He then looked at Rose and his expression softened. "But instead I was given a gift. A reward I didn't deserve."

She smiled gently and took his hand in hers once more. The air was heavy with confessions and regrets, yet the honesty of the moment felt sacred. Rose needed to know the rest, know the events that brought him back to her.

In a hushed voice, she finally asked. "What happened to you, Doctor?"

He took a deep, shuddering breath. The experience was still very raw in his mind, but he determined to share this with her and not hold back. He began recounting the dark events — the return of the Master and then the Time Lords, and how he was prepared to die if that's what it took to stop them. But his death did not come in battle. His life was not taken from him. Instead, he laid it down for another. Rose felt tears building in her eyes then spilling down her face as he then told of how he gave his life to save Wilfred.

The Doctor may not feel he deserved this second chance and the reward he'd been given, but Rose knew he earned it in the sacrifice he had made. It was earned with the three words spoken before he laid down his life for another: _It's my honor_.

He went on to tell her of his goodbyes, and she could sense the anguish he felt in those moments. He finally reached the point of his last stop. The final person he went to see.

"What do you remember about two-thousand and five, January the first?" he asked softly.

Rose furrowed her brow and pondered that for a moment. Slowly, realization dawned on her face as a memory long since faded, or perhaps newly-formed, came to the surface of her mind.

_A man in a long brown coat standing in the shadows, so alone, his eyes filled with pain. _

"That was…that was you," she whispered as tears once again welled up in her eyes. He nodded gently. "How could I have forgotten that — forgotten you? Why didn't I remember that until now?" she asked, unable to grasp how she could have not remembered something of such significance, however brief the encounter may have been.

"Time can be re-written," he said in reply.

"But...wasn't that dangerous?"

He swallowed heavily as he re-laced his fingers through hers in their still-joined hand. "Yes," he replied, his voice tight with emotion. "But I had to do it. I had to see you one last time. I wanted your face to be the last thing I would see and be able to carry that with me."

Rose's voice was hushed as she spoke. "But then you came back to me."

He gave her a watery smile as he released her hand, reached forward and drew her into his arms. Her tears moistened his shirt as she laid her head against his chest. "And I don't plan on ever leaving you again," he vowed to her.

After several minutes of contemplation, Rose lifted her head to look up at him. "So then, will there still be another Doctor out there in your place — the man you didn't become?" He nodded. "Do you think he'll know what happened?" she questioned.

He considered that for a moment. "I don't know. But even if he doesn't, what he will know is that he doesn't carry the same feeling of loss concerning you."

"You mean he won't have the same feelings for me as you do, yeah?" she said quietly.

The Doctor cupped the side of her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb as he gazed lovingly into her eyes. "He will always care about you. Of that much I'm certain. But my feelings for you have stayed with _me_."

Rose smiled softly. "I'm glad. I wouldn't want to think of him missing me the way you did. I want him to be able to move on."

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "It's a new start for both of us. And I think he's going to be just fine. Provided he didn't crash the TARDIS," he added.

"I wonder what he's like," Rose mused.

"A genius, no doubt," he said with sureness. "But also terribly in need of a haircut and a new catchphrase. Geronimo? That's just rubbish. It doesn't compare to Allons-y," he said with a proud sniff. Rose chuckled as he pondered further. "I just wish I could've somehow brought my coat with me. I loved that coat," he said wistfully. "The other Doctor will no doubt just file it away along with the scarf and the celery." He let out a sigh as Rose tried not to smirk at his emotional attachment to that particular piece of clothing.

"I just hope he won't be alone," she said after a few minutes.

The Doctor looked back down at her. "I don't think he will be for long," he replied thoughtfully as he reflected back on his meeting in the library with River Song. He wondered at the time how he could have grown close to someone else when Rose was all he longed for. Now he understood.

The apprehension he had sensed from Rose earlier seemed to dissipate the more they talked and opened up to each other. The Doctor had been acutely aware of their intimately close proximity, and his new human hormones seemed to be going into over-drive. He continued to gaze down at Rose and found his eyes drifting to her lips as he gravitated closer. It certainly wasn't the first time he'd had the urge to kiss her. He had fought it on a rather regular basis back when they had been traveling together. But back then he never allowed himself to act upon those urges, never crossed that line he had drawn for himself. But he _could_ now, couldn't he? And if that kiss on the beach earlier was any indication, Rose wanted it too.

He finally decided he was putting too much thought and not enough action into this. But while his eyes had drifted to her lips, Rose's eyes had begun to drift closed, and he realized how exhausted she must be. The events of the day had taken its toll on all of them; and if he were honest, this part human body seemed to tire more easily, and he realized he was in desperate need of some rest himself. The Doctor snuggled a now half-asleep Rose more closely to him and couldn't help but feel a thrill of anticipation as he thought of how there would be plenty of time for 'other' things later on. Hopefully in the _very_ near future. For tonight, just having Rose in his arms was enough.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning after a quick breakfast, the Doctor packed his belongings back in his pockets as they prepared to leave. Rose came over to him and reached out to touch the piece of TARDIS coral the Doctor was cradling in his hands.

"Will we really be able to grow another TARDIS from this?" she asked in wonder.

The Doctor nodded. "And thanks to Donna, we can do so in record time. Mind you, it will still take a few years."

"A few years?"

"About five, give or take."

Rose swallowed heavily and tried to hide her troubled feelings that began to surface as she turned towards the door. "Well, I guess we better get going or Mum will leave without us," she said, trying to interject cheerfulness in her tone but failing miserably.

The Doctor slipped the coral in his pocket and stepped closer to her, placing his hand on her arm. "Rose, we _will_ be back out there again amongst the stars," he said gently, sensing her concern. "It'll just take a little time, that's all."

She turned from the door back towards him. "I know. And that's okay. Yeah, I loved the traveling, but it was because I was with you. It's just..." She bit her lip in hesitation before continuing. "This is just so...different from what I was expecting, and I'm...well I guess I'm a little scared," Rose admitted. "I'm afraid I won't be enough," she said quietly as her eyes slipped away from his. "I mean, you're _The Doctor,_ and I'm just...me," she shrugged. "It was one thing being with you when you had all of time and space at your fingertips. But now all you have is this life here with me, and I'm afraid I'm not enough."

The Doctor tilted her chin back up to meet his gaze. "Rose," he said softly, "you're not just enough, you are _more_ than enough. I might've had all of time and space, but the one thing I wanted most in all the universe was you. Without you, none of it mattered. You have no idea how much I wanted you, how much I needed you, how much I wished I could be with you again," he confessed, as he reached for her hand and took it in his. "And having this second chance with you means more to me than traveling the stars ever could. I still can't believe I've been given this."

Rose smiled slightly. "Well, I suppose anything's better than dying," she said, trying to keep her tone light but still feeling insecure.

"I'd die a thousand times if it meant I could have this. I wouldn't have tried to run from what was coming if I'd known this was waiting for me," he said truthfully. "Rose, this was the one adventure I thought I could never have but so desperately wanted."

He lifted his hand and gently trailed the backs of his fingers down her cheek as his eyes fell to her lips. They hadn't kissed since the spontaneous and rather spectacular one on the beach. It wasn't for lack of desire on either of their parts, but neither one seemed sure about how to make that next move. Rose's heart began thudding in her chest as he slowly moved closer. She wanted him so desperately in this moment; had for years, actually. Sexual tension was one thing that had never been lacking between them, and since being back together it had been steadily building and was now reaching the boiling point. The Doctor didn't know whether to praise or curse his new hormones at the moment because all he wanted to do was say forget the bloody zeppelin trip back and just stay right here in this room.

All feelings of apprehension or uncertainty seemed to melt away under the intense heat rising between them, and suddenly there was no hesitation on either of their parts about making that move. The Doctor cupped her face in his palms and swept his thumbs across her cheeks as Rose brought her hands up to rest against his chest. Her heart wasn't the only one beating rapidly, Rose noted, as she felt the thudding rhythm of his beneath her palm as they both leaned in simultaneously. The Doctor whispered Rose's name across her lips as her eyes fluttered shut.

Just as their lips were within centimeters of touching, his breath mingling with hers and everything inside them was screaming _finally_, a sudden knock at the door jerked them apart. It was Jackie letting them know the helicopter Pete arranged to have sent ahead had arrived to pick them up and take them to the airport. The Doctor had to suppress a growl of frustration as Rose went to the door and told her they were coming. She cast him a rueful glance before following her mother out of the room. The Doctor followed grudgingly, glaring at Jackie from behind. He was absolutely certain she had planned the timing of that.

They soon reached the airport where Pete, along with little Tony, had just arrived via zeppelin to accompany them back. After exchanging many hugs and tearful greetings, they boarded the zeppelin to head back to London. Jackie had already filled Pete in over the phone on the details of the circumstances as best she could. This situation wasn't what any of them had been expecting, but Pete and Jackie were just glad that Rose was back and now had the Doctor in her life once again, no matter how extraordinary or mind boggling the events were that brought him back to her.

During the flight back, Tony quickly decided that the Doctor was his new best friend. This meant that it didn't exactly afford her and the Doctor much time alone, but she knew they would have that chance later. Rose couldn't help but smile at the way the Doctor managed to charm everyone he met as she watched him enthusiastically interact with her little brother. This was something she didn't think she would ever see. It was a decision that had cost her many sleepless nights, but she had resigned herself to the thought that being with the Doctor again would mean having to give up her family. Now it seemed she wouldn't have to make that sacrifice.

-:-:-:-

"I suppose you're going to need a proper name, identification, and all that," Pete said later on as they all sat eating the meal that had been served to them aboard the luxurious Vitex airship.

"Why?" the Doctor asked, clearly puzzled.

"Well, if you're going to live here and be one of us now, at least for the time being, those are the sort of things you'll need," he reasoned.

The Doctor shrugged. "I don't see why. I've got the psychic paper — that's all the identification I've ever needed. And as for what you would consider a proper name, well, I suppose I can always use John Smith in a pinch when I have to. It usually serves me well."

Jackie rolled her eyes and Pete opened his mouth to object, but Rose cut him off. "He's the Doctor," she stated simply. "Always has been, always will be. After nine hundred years, I don't think you'll change him now," she said with a grin.

Pete held his hands up in submission. "Fine. Just trying to be practical." He sat there in thought for a moment. "But what about a job?"

The Doctor spluttered on the bite of food he'd just taken. He lowered his fork and looked up slowly. "What _about_ a job?" he asked warily.

"Well, you'll need one eventually, won't you?" Pete pointed out, then added, "And you know you could have your choice of positions at Torchwood."

The Doctor knew they were leading up to this and tried to hide his uneasiness at the mention of working for the organization. He had no doubt this Torchwood was different from Yvonne Hartman's organization — Rose wouldn't have been working for them otherwise; but the thought of being in full-time employment there, no matter how different they may be, left him feeling a bit unsettled. "Pete, I'll be glad to help out if and when I'm needed, but…"

"'S okay," Rose cut in. "You don't have to decide anything now. There's plenty of time, yeah?"

The Doctor was grateful she had given him an out, and tried to avoid the subject for the rest of the trip.

They eventually reached London, and Pete had arranged to have Rose's car waiting for her when they disembarked. The Doctor heartily approved of its TARDIS-blue exterior.

Jackie turned to them both before leaving. "You know, the two of you can always stay with us at the mansion for a little while if you'd like," she offered, still feeling a bit clingy after the ordeal they'd all been through. Plus she wasn't sure if everything was completely smoothed over between Rose and the Doctor and wanted to give Rose the opportunity for a little more time if she wasn't quite ready to be alone with him yet.

"Thanks, Mum," Rose said. "But the Doctor and I just need to get settled."

"Well, if you're sure." Then she took Rose aside. "Is everything alright with you an' him now?"

Rose smiled. "Yeah, I think we're gonna be okay."

Jackie gave her a hug. "Well I'm glad for that." Then she pulled back and gave her a stern look. "Just be careful what the two of you get up to. I'm not ready to be a grandmother just yet," she warned.

"Mum!" Rose hissed.

Jackie put her hands on her hips. "What? I've seen the way he's been lookin' at you. Just make sure he behaves himself, is all."

"Yes, Mum," she replied in exasperation and just hoped the Doctor had been too busy talking with Pete to overhear.

They said their goodbyes, and the Doctor and Rose got in her car to head out. Rose flashed him a grin as they hit the road, anxious to show him her place. She couldn't believe this day had actually come and the Doctor was _really_ here with her in this universe that had once felt so empty without him.

This was a brand new start. Yet neither one was aware of just how many challenges were still to come.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Doctor and Rose arrive at her place, and a conversation is had in which a new character is introduced who will play a pivotal role in future chapters.**

* * *

Once Rose and the Doctor were a few miles outside the city, they turned onto a back road which led to Rose's place. She informed him that it was actually only about ten miles from the Tyler mansion. It was starting to get dark as they pulled into a gravel path leading to a narrow but tall structure with a domed roof. The Doctor's curiosity was piqued. From the outside, it didn't appear to be what was considered a traditional house.

"This is it," Rose said as they stepped out of the car. The Doctor looked around inquisitively, taking in the surroundings. "When I found this place, the property was for sale but the building was going to be torn down. It was an old observatory that hadn't been used in years. I stayed on with Mum and Dad for a little while after Tony was born, but then I decided it was time to find a place of my own. And something about this just felt right."

The Doctor gave her a grin. "It does indeed. I like it," he said approvingly.

She grinned back. "I think you'll like the inside, too."

They walked up to the door as Rose took out her key, then stepped inside and switched on the lights. It was a small, circular space with a living area in the center and a kitchen off to the side. But despite the small size, it felt larger due to the tall, open ceiling. A spiral staircase at the back of the room led to a loft which served as the bedroom.

The Doctor gazed around and began familiarizing himself with the surroundings, eager to see this place that had become Rose's home.

"I had the inside renovated and the kitchen and bathrooms put in. I did some of it myself, and Dad and Mickey helped. It gave me something to focus on when I wasn't working," she told him.

The décor was simple yet stylish and a bit eclectic, but it seemed to suit Rose. This was a place he could picture her living. There were photos here and there of family and friends, but what caught his eye were the two pictures sitting on the coffee table of him and Rose. He slipped on his glasses as he picked one up to take a closer look.

"These were all I had," she said softly as she came to stand beside him. "They were taken with my phone and I didn't even remember they were on there. You can't imagine how happy I was when I found them."

He swallowed heavily as he sat the picture down, removed his glasses and turned towards her. "Well, you've got the one and only here now," he said, trying to lighten the mood, but couldn't hide the dampness in his eyes.

"Yeah," she smiled, her own eyes misting over. "Do you want to see the upstairs?" she asked.

He smiled and nodded eagerly as she led the way. The bedroom area was quite spacious, with an attached en-suite. The Doctor noted that the double bed looked quite capable of accommodating them both, then cursed his single-minded hormones for making his thoughts continually stray.

"This is the part I love best of all," Rose said as she walked over to a switch on the wall. She flipped it, and the Doctor watched as the ceiling opened in the center to reveal a glass dome giving a stunning view of the night sky.

"This is why I loved this place," she said wistfully. "It made me feel closer to the stars."

The Doctor lowered his gaze back down to her. "It's perfect."

"You think?"

He smiled broadly. "Oh, definitely. This is the kind of place I could picture you living."

"What about you?" she asked softly.

For some reason, the Doctor was caught off guard by that. It was just taken for granted that the two of them would be staying together, but hearing her say that somehow made it very real. She was offering her home to him – offering to let him make this his home as well. He was so moved by that, for a moment he couldn't speak. She misinterpreted his momentary silence as hesitation on his part.

"Of course, you would have to learn to put up with doors and carpets, and I know that's not exactly a very pleasant thought for you..." She trailed off then, afraid that he was suddenly having doubts about all this.

He blinked. "What? No. No, that's not what I was thinking. It's just...you're offering me your home," he said, almost in awe.

Rose laughed softly. "Well, yeah. You did the same thing for me, didn't you? Shared your home with me in the TARDIS. Besides, where else would you stay?"

"Well, not with your mother, I can tell you that." Rose snorted in laughter. His expression became somber. "But to answer your first question, yes. I can definitely see myself here with you."

A smile lit up Rose's face as she took his hand in hers and gave a gentle squeeze. She then released it and walked over to the bed where she laid back with her hands behind her head, gazing up at the stars. The Doctor settled beside her and mirrored her position.

After a few moments of contented silence, he turned his head to her. "So," he began, "spent a lot of your free time fixing this place up, did you? Did you have much time for going out with mates, or...anything? Did you get to know anyone special here?" he asked casually.

Rose looked at him, a smile tugging at her lips. "You mean did I go out with anyone?"

He shrugged. "Just curious."

She propped herself up on her elbows. "There was no one else, if that's what you're asking," she said softly. "It was obviously over with Mickey and me a long time ago. We were just good friends." She paused for a moment. "But no, there was no one else."

The Doctor tried to hide the pleased look on his face. Perhaps it was a side-effect of being part human. He had wanted Rose to have a fantastic life and certainly didn't want her to be lonely, but the thought of her being with anyone else caused a feeling of jealously stronger than he was accustomed to.

"There were friends," she continued, while looking down and idly plucking at the threads on the duvet. "One in particular. His name's Joron."

The Doctor already didn't like just the sound of this man's name as Rose spoke it, but he kept his tone casual as he replied. "Common name," he said with slight sarcasm.

She smirked. "Oh, like you can talk with 'The Doctor'," she teased. "He's not human, actually; although he looks it. He's from the planet Zendor."

The Doctor instantly stiffened. "The Zendorians are a race of warriors," he said, his growing unease evident.

"I know," she replied. "His grandfather was once the planet's Ruler before his government was overthrown. His planet has been engaged in a civil war for years, and Joron was the rank of High Commander on one of the warring sides. But he fled the fighting. He lost everyone. His family, even his wife," she said sadly. "He came here looking for a new life. We detected his ship when it arrived, and we soon found that he could be quite an asset to us at Torchwood, and he was willing to help. He's one of our tactical officers and weapons experts."

Rose could see the Doctor's look of disapproval when she mentioned weapons. "He's the one you have to thank for me being able to defend myself from the Daleks," she informed him, hoping to quell his objections. "He helped create those weapons."

"He sounds like a saint," he replied sardonically.

"Sometimes weapons are necessary for defense," she reminded him.

The Doctor exhaled deeply, not wanting to get into an argument on the topic. "So, you two are good friends then?" he said, switching back to the subject.

Rose smirked. "Are you jealous?"

He scoffed. "Time Lords do _not_ get jealous."

"What about part human Time Lords?" she challenged playfully. He just shot her an annoyed look as she chuckled.

"We were never more than friends," she continued, then added, "At least as far as I was concerned."

He quirked an eyebrow. "And what about as far as he was concerned?"

Rose sighed and flopped back on the bed. "I went out with him a few times," she admitted. "But not like a date...not really," she added. "Just as friends. But it became clear he thought of it as something more."

"How much more?" the Doctor asked warily.

Rose paused for a moment and swallowed, then decided to just come out with it. "He wanted me to become his wife and go back with him when he returned to his home planet," she confessed.

"What?" he squeaked.

She took a deep breath. "It started with an offer to take me on a trip in his ship."

"Oldest pick-up line in the galaxy," the Doctored muttered.

Rose smacked him on his arm playfully. "_You_ would know. Anyway, he knew my story, knew I missed traveling. So I said okay. He took me on a few trips — the bazaar on Dulibon 4, dinner on Raxton. It was fun and it was nice. But it just...wasn't the same. Not like when I traveled with you. I knew it wasn't the stars I was missing, but the man who showed me the stars." The Doctor's feelings of jealousy began melting away at those words. "And then on the third trip he told me how he felt."

"But you didn't feel the same." He tried to make it more of a statement than a question.

Rose laughed, but her tone was serious as she spoke. "How could I? If I had never known you, then...I dunno, maybe. But you were the only one my heart could belong to even if I would never be able to see you again. Nothing could change that. And I told him so, but that didn't seem to deter him." She frowned and added, "I don't think he's used to taking no for an answer."

The Doctor immediately sat up. "What did he do?" he asked all too quickly.

Rose sat up and placed her hand on his arm. "Nothing," she assured him calmly. "He was just persistent." She could see the muscles in the Doctor's jaw tense. "It doesn't matter now anyway. He's gonna be leaving soon. His people now have a new Ruler and have reached a peace agreement. He would've left sooner, but he stayed to help us when the darkness started."

"The _stars_ were going out, Rose. It didn't just involve this planet. So I'd say his motives weren't entirely selfless."

Rose sighed in exasperation. "Selfish or selfless, it doesn't matter. You don't have anything to be jealous about."

"Who's jealous?"

She rolled her eyes and stood. "Look, if I can let you off the hook for Good Queen Bess..." she began, just as he hopped up and quickly cut her off.

"I told you, that was just—"

She held up her hands. "I know, I know. Let's just drop both matters, shall we?"

He opened his mouth to say something more, but promptly shut it, deciding that was the wisest course of action.

Rose then looked down at the clothes she had been wearing for more days than she cared to remember. "Oh, I have _got_ to get out of these and into something else. I know it sounds daft, but I feel like my clothes are soaked in Void stuff and it's making me itchy."

She looked up at him and took notice of his blue suit and burgundy t-shirt. "You don't even have anything to change into," she realized. "We'll have to go shopping first thing tomorrow."

A look of horror crossed his face at the mention of that. "What's wrong with this? It's perfectly fine."

"But it's all you have. You can't live your life in only one suit."

"I managed perfectly well with just two," he pointed out.

She shook her head. "Fine. Then we'll just get you one more. I'm sure we can find something with pinstripes. But you have to at least have something to change into when that one's being cleaned."

"No need," he said brightly as he pulled out the sonic and ran it over himself. "I can sonic it clean without even taking it off."

She smirked, having forgotten about his preferred method of dry cleaning. "You're impossible, you know that?"

"Not impossible. Just a bit unlikely," he said with wink, then replaced his sonic with a flourish.

A look of recollection came over Rose as she watched him put it away. She grabbed her jacket and began fishing through the pockets. "I completely forgot," she said, as she pulled an identical sonic screwdriver from her jacket.

"Where did you get that?" he asked in bewilderment.

A dark look crossed her face. "From you," she said quietly. "In that parallel world where I met Donna and you had died. This fell out of your hand and I...I went back for it. It was just...lying there…" she trailed off, beginning to re-live the dismal events in her mind.

The Doctor stepped closer and took the screwdriver from her hand as he bent slightly to look in her eyes. "That's over now," he gently reminded her.

Rose nodded and wrapped her arms around his waist as she fought back tears. "Hey," he said softly, "Rule number one: no more tears."

"I thought it was 'no wandering off'," she mumbled into his chest.

"Weeell, okay. This is rule B."

She laughed softly, then after a few moments pulled back. "I'll go get changed now. You can just make yourself at home, kay?"

He smiled and nodded as she headed for the bureau and took out a change of clothes, then slipped into the bathroom. She peeked her head out a moment later. "I don't even have a toothbrush for you," she fretted.

"Oh, no need." The Doctor patted his pockets and pulled one out. "Venusian spearmint," he proclaimed happily.

Rose just grinned and shook her head as she ducked back in.

He toed off his trainers and shrugged out of his jacket, and then began to play with the domed cover in the ceiling by opening and closing it with the sonic. Rose re-emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later.

The Doctor froze as his eyes fell upon her. He slowly switched off the sonic and just gazed at her. She had changed into a cream colored camisole and matching pajama shorts — nothing provocative by any means, but he found himself having to drag his eyes away from the expanse of leg that was revealed.

She stepped closer and smiled. "Bathroom's all yours, if you'd like."

"Hmm?" he replied distractedly. "Oh, right, yes, bathroom. I'll just..." He pointed his thumb in the general direction and cleared his throat as he headed for the en-suite.

He was _really _going to have to get some control over these new hormones, the Doctor thought to himself as his mind raced ahead to the tantalizing prospect of sharing a bed with Rose for another night.


	8. Chapter 8

**The Doctor and Rose clear the air about one more issue standing between them, and things begin to get a bit *ahem* steamy.**

* * *

The Doctor stepped back out into the bedroom a few minutes later. His new single heart began beating just a little faster as his eyes fell upon Rose at the far end of the room where she stood gazing out the window. She was bathed in the moonlight which cast her in a soft glow. He crossed the room towards her as she turned to face him, and it was then he saw the tears streaming down her cheeks. He came to an abrupt stop upon seeing her face filled with such pain.

His mind suddenly began to flood with feelings of self-doubt. He had been so happy to have this second chance at life that he didn't even mind if he wasn't a full Time Lord and had only a human lifespan; but maybe Rose _did_. Maybe she saw him as less than the man he had been before.

No, he told himself. He was still the same man inside, regardless of a few human genes, and he could see in her eyes that Rose knew that. It had to be something else that was troubling her.

"Rose, what's wrong?" he asked softly as he slowly took a few steps closer.

She raised her hand to wipe at the tears on her face, then took a deep, shaky breath. "What you said to me on the beach...did you really mean it?" Rose asked quietly.

He thought only briefly of asking her what she was referring to, but then quickly realized _exactly_ what it was she meant. He had only said the words once, and then he had been on such shaky ground with her immediately after that he wasn't sure if she was ready to hear it again.

It pained him to think she had any doubts about the truth of the words he spoke to her. But considering he was also the same man who refused to say it before, it was understandable for her to question him.

The Doctor closed the distance between them as he reached up and brushed her tears away with his thumbs. "You mean when I told you I loved you?" he asked, saying the words without hesitancy. He tilted her chin up a fraction to gaze directly into her eyes. "Yes," he replied with absolute conviction.

"Then why wouldn't you say it before?" she questioned, a slight tremor in her voice. "Did you really think it didn't need saying?"

He breathed deeply. This had not yet been discussed between them, and he knew they would eventually come to this. "I was a coward," he admitted. "I knew it needed saying, but I just couldn't. Even though I desperately wanted to. I couldn't say those words to you and then walk away. But that was one of the things I regretted the moment I left you, and for so long after. And it was one of the reasons I didn't hesitate to finally say it to you when I was given another chance."

Rose dropped her gaze for a moment before slowly lifting her eyes back to his. "Do you think you could say it again?" she asked, her voice coming out in a whisper.

A slow smile spread across his face. "I'll say it every day for the rest of my life. Rose Tyler, my beautiful, perfect Rose. I love you."

Her stomach fluttered and her heart soared at hearing those words fall so easily yet assuredly from his lips. "And what I said to you will always be true," Rose said, feeling the need to say this again now so that there was no doubt. "I love you," she breathed.

The Doctor moved even closer to her until their bodies were almost touching, and he bought his hands up to cup the sides of her face. Rose's eyes briefly fell shut as she used all of her restraint to keep from grabbing him and crashing her lips to his like she did once before, but she held back. Rose wanted the Doctor to be the one to make the move this time.

And make the move he did.

It began agonizingly slow. He lowered his lips to hers, pausing briefly just before they touched, his breath ghosting across her lips. Then he moved that fraction of an inch more and touched his lips to hers once, twice, three times. With a sigh of pleasure, he pressed his mouth firmly to hers as his hands moved down to wrap around her waist and pull her tightly against him. Her own hands came up to tangle in his _gorgeous_ hair the way she had dreamt of doing so many times.

He brought one hand back up to her face to cradle her jaw, angling her head up and allowing him better access. His tongue flicked out and traced the contours of her top lip, and then the bottom. Rose moaned softly and parted her lips, allowing him entrance. His tongue slid into her mouth where he began exploring her with enthusiasm and mapping the hidden recesses of her mouth. Her taste was sweet and intoxicating — something he identified as pure Rose, and he couldn't get enough as he drank her in like a man parched from thirst. _This_ is what he had dreamt of for so long, and it had been worth every second of the wait.

Unwilling to remain passive and let him have the lead now that this had _finally_ begun, Rose began stroking his tongue with her own, gliding back and forth together in perfect rhythm, then pushed into his mouth and began greedily exploring him in a way that made every fantasy she'd ever had about kissing the Doctor pale in comparison to this moment.

This time it wasn't a kiss before dying or Rose's mind taken over by someone else or a helmet getting in the way or a moment that ended all too soon. This was simply him loving her and her loving him, just as it was always meant to be.

Craving and needing to feel more of her beneath his touch, the Doctor's hands moved to her shoulders, cupping them softly then squeezing gently before trailing the tips of his fingers down her arms where his hands lingered for a moment, then followed the same path back up, this time splaying his palms open across her arms. Rose sighed with pleasure as her hands moved from his head down to his chest, and she reveled in the feel of his rippled muscles beneath her fingers, separated only by his thin t-shirt.

Suddenly the closeness they shared was no longer enough for either of them and they needed to be closer still. The Doctor shifted forward, positioning his knee between hers so there was no longer any space between them as he pulled her fully against him. Rose finally wrenched her mouth from his out of sheer need for oxygen, and he began peppering her face with kisses — her eyelids, her cheeks, along her jaw. As his fingers and his lips continued their exploration, Rose threw her head back in pleasure at his ministrations and he took the opportunity to descend upon her neck and claim the expanse of skin offered up to him as her body hummed in pleasure. Neither one could quite comprehend that this was really, _finally_ happening as they lost themselves completely to this moment and to each other.

Rose's hands traveled from his chest down his ribcage to the waistband of his trousers, pausing briefly, knowing _exactly_ where she wanted to go, but then circled around to his back, gently dragging her nails up his spine and to his shoulder blades where she clutched him tightly against her. A low growl rumbled in his chest as he descended lower down her neck, gently sucking at the pulse point, then laving the spot with his tongue. His fingers crept under the hem of her camisole seeking contact with her skin. Rose shivered as his cool fingers danced across her heated flesh in feather-light touches. The tips of his fingers skittered up her sides, then fanned out to flatten his hands possessively across her back. Years of repressed desires were finally being unleashed as the fire between them intensified.

Rose breathlessly murmured his name, which he quickly swallowed in a passionate kiss as his mouth took possession of hers once more. He deftly turned her and began walking her back with deliberate strides until they were at the foot of the bed. In one fluid motion, he sat and pulled her down with him without breaking contact with her mouth. Rose positioned her knees on either side of his legs as she straddled his lap, her fingers moving back up to thread into his hair and drag across his scalp as her tongue redoubled its efforts in this dance they had begun.

The Doctor's hands moved to caress the smooth skin of her thighs, causing her nerve-endings to ignite into flames at his touch. After several sweeping strokes, his hands then glided up her hips and came to rest at her waist. He slowly leaned back, Rose following his mouth with her own as she came to lay atop his chest. He tore his mouth from hers, groaning loud and deep at the feel of her body pressed against his, then flipped her, reversing their positions as he hovered above, then dipped down to her neck, licking and nuzzling his way up, and then claiming her mouth once more as his hands began their journey back under her top and slowly moving higher.

Rose's body had been racing ahead of her brain and all rational thought flew out of her mind the moment he began kissing and touching her like this; but her brain finally started catching up, and she realized just how far they were about to go.

Her eyes suddenly flew open as she broke the kiss, breathing heavily. The Doctor gazed back down at her, his eyes black with desire and his chest rising and falling rapidly. _No respiratory bypass system_, he noted somewhere in the back of his brain where he was still able to form rational thought.

Rose needed to slow things down, but was already missing his lips upon hers. She brought her hand up to his face and traced his bottom lip with her thumb. He drew the digit into his warm mouth and sucked gently, swirling his tongue across the tip before releasing, causing Rose to whimper with desire. He leaned forward and kissed her slowly once more, his tongue making a thorough sweep of her mouth before pulling back. He pressed his forehead to hers, both still breathing heavily.

"Tell me to stop," he whispered huskily.

Rose swallowed hard. She didn't even know if she could form words at the moment. A battle was raging between her mind and her emotions. Her desires wanted to tell him not to stop — not to _ever_ stop. But her mind knew this was too much too soon. They were still trying to adjust to all this, to get their footing in this new relationship. She was still trying to come to terms with this whole, confusing situation. It didn't matter what her hormones were telling her at the moment; she needed them to take this slow. She didn't want to do something they weren't ready for and then regret it later once there was no going back. They'd had enough regrets, and she didn't want to ever have anymore.

Rose closed her eyes and drew a deep breath, then opened them again and focused on his own full of love and passion. "I want you. I want _this_," she breathed. "But I...I don't think we're ready — not yet."

Drawing upon every ounce of his resolve, he slowly eased himself up and offered her his hand to pull her up and sit with him. She raked her fingers through her tousled hair as the Doctor took several deep breaths, willing his raging desires to calm down.

He knew she was right. He didn't want to just grab whatever he could take in the heat of the moment and do anything and everything simply because he was so overjoyed at being given this second chance at life. This life with Rose meant _everything_ to him, and he was willing to give her as much time as she needed and wait for her as long it would take.

"You're right," he finally managed. "I lost control and I'm not used to that. It's these human hormones," he confessed. "I'm finding it harder than before to control these urges."

Rose gave him an understanding smile. "Welcome to the club." Then she considered what he had just said and slowly arched a brow. "Hold on, you said, 'harder than before'. Does that mean you've always had these urges?"

He reached forward and traced his finger along her jaw causing her to shiver. "Every time I was around you," he husked. "Even back when I was all broody and wore leather and hid behind the false front of, 'I don't do domestic'."

She was rapidly losing her train of thought with him looking at her like that, and had to fight to regain her focus on what it was she wanted to say. Rose cleared her throat. "I just...I want to get this right. I want to get _us_ right. This is it," she gestured between them, "you and me. And I want it to be perfect. But I think we need to take things slow, one step at a time, yeah? We still have so much to adjust to."

The Doctor smiled gently and leaned forward to press a soft kiss to her forehead. "I can do that," he promised, then added, "It may not be easy, but it's worth it. _You_ are worth it."

Rose took his hand in hers. "Can you still...sleep here with me tonight?" she asked, almost shyly.

A slow smile crept across his face. "Do you trust me?" he asked, his voice coming out much lower than he intended.

"With my life," Rose replied without hesitation, then after a pause and a look of certainty, "and with my heart."

He lifted her hand and brushed his lips across her knuckles, then stood and switched off the lamp.

"I don't have anything for you to sleep in," she said apologetically as she pictured him having to wear the same t-shirt and trousers again for another night.

The Doctor locked eyes with her and held her gaze as he grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and tugged it over his head. "Not a problem," he said, his voice dropping into that deep, low tone that sent shivers through her.

Rose was unable to tear her gaze away as he stripped down to his boxer shorts while boldly keeping his eyes locked on hers. Her tongue flicked out involuntarily to moisten her lips as her eyes raked over his lean, yet deceptively muscular torso.

"Still think we need to go shopping for clothes?" he asked, a smug look on his face at the effect he was clearly having on her.

"I...I think I'm starting to see the advantages of your opinion," she replied breathily.

"And are you enjoying the view as you see the 'advantages'?" he asked seductively as he gave her a wink.

Rose couldn't even respond, and he gave a self-satisfied chuckle as he slipped beneath the covers beside her. This was certainly a side to the Doctor she had never seen before. _In more ways than one_, she thought to herself with a grin as her stomach fluttered. Apparently he was going to be quite bold in this relationship. Rose found she wasn't going to mind one bit.


	9. Chapter 9

**I've been anxious to get to this point in the story! The Doctor is in for quite a surprise...**

* * *

Rose woke once in the night to discover their legs were entwined together and she had somehow wrapped herself around the Doctor's body in her sleep. The rational part of her brain said she should disentangle herself and put a little sensible distance between them, but she promptly told that part of her brain to shove-off as she snuggled in closer and fell back into the most contented sleep she'd had in years.

When Rose woke the next morning, her eyes were met by the Doctor's deep brown orbs gazing back at her almost hungrily as he hovered over her propped up on his side. She realized he had been watching her sleep, and the intimacy of that, along with his intense, heated gaze made her flush furiously.

"Good morning," he greeted, his voice low and gravelly and _oh_ so sexy.

"G' morning," she replied, her voice coming out more breathily than she intended.

Her eyes drank in the sight of his perfectly tousled hair, down to his strong, lean chest with a smattering of hair that traveled down to his navel and disappeared beneath the sheet that was draped across his hips. She unconsciously licked her lips as she thought about following the path with her hands.

Her eyes flicked back to his as he leaned forward and kissed her slowly yet possessively. He pressed his tongue to her lips requesting entrance, which she willingly gave. Rose placed a hand on his chest and swept down to his abdomen, relishing the feel of his taught, rippled flesh beneath her palm as a groan reverberated deep in his chest.

His tongue danced and swirled in a way that left her dizzy and made her toes curl in delight. As the languid morning kiss quickly became more heated, Rose realized they were going to be right back where they had been the night before if they didn't slow things down.

She was just starting to question _why_ they should slow things down when the Doctor broke the kiss and trailed a finger over her swollen lips as he gave her a slow, smoldering smile.

"I'm not used to sleeping this much, but if I get to do it next to you and wake up like this then I'm not complaining," he said, his voice still in that seductively low timbre.

Rose smiled slowly as she reached up to drag her fingers through his hair. "No complaints from me, either," she purred. "I think I could get used to having you in my bed." Sharing the same bed while trying to take things slow might prove quite difficult; but Rose smiled inwardly as she told herself she was willing to rise to the challenge.

Something very close to a growl rumbled in his chest as he shifted forward to capture her lips once more, but she ducked away and sat up, grinning cheekily.

"If we keep this up, we'll never make it out of bed," Rose said, the tip of her tongue peeking out between her teeth as she grinned at his pouting expression.

"And why would we ever want to get out of bed?" he questioned, still pouting in a way that made her want to draw that full, bottom lip into her mouth.

Rose shook herself and forced her wandering thoughts to refocus. "Because we have so much to do today!" she replied brightly as she bounced up from the bed.

Rose padded over to the bureau and began taking out a change of clothes as she continued. "We should at least make an appearance at Torchwood now that we're back, and there's shopping to do, and—"

Her speech was cut off as the Doctor's arms encircled her from behind and drew her back against him. "I thought we agreed that shopping for clothes wasn't necessary," he husked into her ear, his hot breath sending shivers down her spine.

She turned in his arms and placed her hands on his chest. "As much as I love seeing you like this, I am the _only_ one who is gonna see you like this. The rest of the time you're gonna have to wear some clothes," she said with a grin as she wiggled out of his arms and escaped into the bathroom, then peeked her head around the door. "_You_," she said sternly, "should get dressed. I'm gonna take a shower."

"Need some help?" he called after her casually.

Rose stuck her head back out. "Down, boy. We're supposed to be taking things slow, remember?"

He gave her a mock salute followed by a seductive wink. She rolled her eyes disapprovingly, but couldn't hide the way her eyes twinkled with merriment.

-:-:-:-

Rose emerged a short while later dressed and ready to go. She made her way downstairs where she found the Doctor in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

"Do you realize you have _no_ bananas?" he said in a scandalized tone.

She laughed. "I don't think I have much of anything in the cupboards at the moment." Then added, "I hadn't planned on coming back." She regretted those last words as soon as they slipped out. The Doctor, however, managed to smooth over it and keep the mood light.

"Ah, but I did find waffles and marmalade. Now we just need some bananas, and then we'll have all the necessary staples," he said in all seriousness, and she couldn't help but grin at him.

Somehow it felt normal, yet at the same time surreal, to have the Doctor here in her kitchen fixing breakfast and conversing about bananas. She still couldn't quite believe that they were actually together again and had to keep telling herself this was real.

He pulled out the twin sonic screwdrivers from his blue suit jacket and, with one in each hand, began 'cooking' the waffles.

"I do have a toaster, you know," she pointed out in amusement at his cooking methods.

He scoffed. "Not nearly as efficient."

He followed Rose to the table and sat the waffles in front of her, then began tucking into his own as he replaced both sonic screwdrivers in his pocket. Rose lifted the fork to her mouth but paused halfway, suddenly motionless.

"Doctor?" she said slowly.

He looked up. "What's wrong? They're cooked to perfection, I can assure you."

She looked into his eyes, her expression dumbstruck. "No, it's not that. Doctor, how can there be...two sonic screwdrivers?"

He quirked a brow. "Because you found the second one in that parallel world and brought it back," he replied slowly, as if explaining something to a child.

She shook her head. "No but…that world doesn't exist anymore. I didn't even have time to give this any thought before, but...how can that screwdriver still be here when that world disappeared and everything changed back?" she asked, her voice rising and heart beginning to pound.

"Well, that world no longer exists, but you took this _outside_ of that reality. It's…," he waved his hand, "...complicated."

Rose dropped her fork back to the plate, her mouth still hanging open in shock. "We have to get to Torchwood!" she said quickly.

"What? Why?"

"I'm not gonna say until I know for sure, but just…trust me. We _really_ need to get to Torchwood."

She didn't even give him time to ask any more questions as she grabbed her keys and ran out the door. He quickly followed in utter confusion.

-:-:-:-

They made it to Torchwood in record time. Rose had refused to tell the Doctor what was going on, saying she needed to be certain first. They rushed into the building but were stopped several times along the way by Rose's friends and colleagues welcoming her back. She stayed long enough to greet them and introduce the Doctor, but it was clear she was anxious to keep moving. They finally made their way to a large storage room where Rose flipped on the lights and slowly approached an area that was draped behind a large cloth.

She turned back towards the Doctor and bit her lip. "I think I have something to show you," she said, her voice hitching in excitement. He nodded anxiously, still completely bewildered.

Rose pulled back the cloth and gasped in relief as a huge grin broke out across her face. The Doctor's eyes went wide in shock, unable to believe what he was seeing.

Standing there in all its glory was a blue Police Public Call Box. He drew his hands out of his pockets and slowly approached, placing a slightly trembling hand on the wooden exterior.

"It's the TARDIS," he whispered in awe. He turned back to her, his expression still one of shock. "But...but how?"

She took a deep breath, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "In that parallel world where I met Donna, the one where you died — drowned underneath the Thames, UNIT recovered the TARDIS, and we used it to help build...basically a time machine. We scraped off the surface technology and used it to send Donna back so the events could be returned to the way they were meant to be."

Rose stepped up to the TARDIS and placed her hand reverently on the side. "Without you, it was dying. But it used the last of its energy to help us. After it was done and we had sent Donna back, I couldn't just leave the TARDIS there. I didn't want her to be stripped bare by UNIT — we had already done enough to her. So I contacted Control and had them lock onto the TARDIS and bring it back. I honestly thought it was temporary and it would just disappear once everything changed back. But even still, it seemed like the least I could do for her at the time."

The Doctor let out a sound of disbelief as he slowly opened the door, the familiar creak music to his ears. They both walked slowly up the ramp into the dark and lifeless control room.

"The thing is though...," Rose began regretfully, "this TARDIS is dead. But maybe we can...I dunno, use some of the parts to help in growing the new one."

The Doctor turned to her slowly and shook his head. "Oh, I don't think growing a new one will be necessary now," he said, excitement building in his voice.

Rose wrinkled her brow. "But I thought you said that once a TARDIS was dead there was nothing that could be done," she replied, remembering the time they first fell into this world and the Doctor thought the TARDIS was dead before discovering a tiny spark of life.

"Ordinarily that's the case. Unless you happen to have a piece of living TARDIS to use as a transplant." He then removed the piece of coral he was still carrying in his jacket as a slow, beaming smile came to his face. "Oh, look..., we do!"

Rose stepped closer and placed her hand on the coral, gently thrumming beneath her touch. "You mean we can use this to bring the TARDIS back to life?" she asked in hopeful wonder.

He grinned manically. "Oh, yes! Think of it as a sort of heart transplant. And since she'll take her first breath, so to speak, from this universe, she'll be able to travel here without the different kind of energy being a problem."

"I don't believe it," Rose whispered in amazement. "So instead of taking years, we can be back traveling in a matter of..."

"A week at the most," he supplied joyously.

She then threw her arms around him and he lifted her off her feet and spun them around until they were both dizzy and laughing ecstatically.

"Oh, Rose," he began once he'd set her back down, "do you realize what this means?" His face broke into a wide grin. "We don't have to go shopping!"

She just laughed. Leave it to the Doctor to be thinking of _that_, she thought to herself. He then dashed over to the strut by the door.

"My coat!" he exclaimed in glee. "Oh, I _love_ my coat!"

The Doctor gazed around in whimsy at the room he thought he would never see again, at least not _this_ version. "This is the TARDIS just as you and I had left it, right after I burned up a sun to say goodbye," he said reverently. "Before it was haunted with the years of your absence. And before I traveled on in it alone," he added softly, thinking of his lonely, final journeys before being given this new life.

Rose stepped closer and reached for his hand. "It's like it was meant to be," she smiled softly. Then her attention was shifted to the console in its state of disrepair. "So what do we have to do first?" Rose asked eagerly.


	10. Chapter 10

**The plot begins to thicken. ;)**

* * *

In no time, the Doctor and Rose were immersed in beginning the repairs to the TARDIS and configuring what was needed to integrate the living coral into her systems. They worked for hours side-by-side, happily engaged in conversation and working seamlessly together, just like always.

Rose finally sat up and stretched her neck side-to-side, saying she needed a break. "We didn't even have time for breakfast this morning and I'm starving. Why don't we go get some lunch and then afterwards we can get back to work?"

The Doctor sat up and brushed himself off. "Good idea."

Rose then glanced down at her grease-smeared clothes and the Doctor's blue suit in an equally soiled state. "I think we could do with a change of clothes first," she suggested, then added brightly, "And we don't even have to go shopping to do it!"

"Now _that_ is the best news of all!" he said, standing up and playfully bumping her shoulder. Rose giggled as they headed off to their respective rooms to get changed.

Rose was struck by the surrealism of being back in her old room on the TARDIS — like stepping into a past life. Everything was just as she had left it. As joyous as her time and travels with the Doctor had been in the past, a thrill of excitement went through her at the thought of what the future held for them now. As Rose sorted through her old clothes, she realized her taste had changed a bit, had matured. But her likes were still similar, and she managed to find something suitable to change into.

She emerged a short while later and found the Doctor already waiting for her in the console room. Rose stopped dead in her tracks the instant she saw him. For a moment it felt as if the air had rushed out of her lungs and she couldn't breathe. He was wearing his brown pinstriped suit, a collared shirt, and tie. Her mind instantly flashed back to the last time she saw him dressed like that.

The day he turned his back on her and left.

She felt tears stinging her eyes at the memory that was still raw in her mind. It was as if she were looking back at that same man now. The one who always put up barriers between them and kept his feelings closely guarded. The one who wore the pinstripes almost like a suit of armor. The one who left her without the intention of ever returning.

Suddenly, the fear and doubt she had felt a few days before came rushing back. What if everything went back to the way it had been? What if he returned to his old ways of always running and never looking back? He had the TARDIS now; he didn't have to just settle for this life on Earth — this life with her.

The Doctor immediately noticed the troubled expression on her face and eyes filling with tears, and the fact that her feet now seemed unable to move. He walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"What is it, Rose? What's wrong?" he asked in concern.

Unable to meet his eyes, she looked away and shook her head. "'S nothing," she said quietly.

He reached out his hand and turned her face back towards him. "Hey," he said gently, "Tell me. Don't shut me out Rose, please."

She sucked in a breath as the tears spilled down her cheeks. "It's just...seeing you like this...it brings back memories. And those memories still hurt," Rose confessed.

Despite the progress they had made, the Doctor knew it would take Rose some time to fully move past the fact that he had left her behind the way he had. It wasn't something she could just forget happened. Although he was now here with her, he was also the same one who made the decision to leave her, and at the time, didn't think he would ever return.

The Doctor wrapped his arms around Rose and tucked her head under his chin. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I didn't think."

She shook her head. "It's okay. It's not the suit...it's just..."

"The man wearing the suit?" he supplied.

He took a deep breath. "Rose, things are different now. _I'm_ different now. We won't go back to the way things used to be, I promise," he assured her, as if knowing her thoughts. "I couldn't. I want this life with you more than I've ever wanted anything else in the universe. I am not about to make the same mistakes of the past."

Rose pulled back and gazed into his eyes full of sincerity. "I know. I believe you — I do. I just have to stop separating the two in my mind — the one who walked away and the one who stayed. You walked away, but you also came back. You're here now, and I'm trying to just put the past behind us."

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. "I won't leave you again, Rose. That's a promise."

She smiled and moved closer to brush her lips with his, then took his hand. "Why don't you come buy me some chips, eh?"

He smiled back. "Chips it is."

Rose turned to head down the ramp, but he tugged gently on her hand, turning her back to him. She looked at him questioningly.

He shrugged. "I love you," he said simply.

Her heart fluttered at the simplicity yet gravity of his words. He _was_ a different man now. And whatever the future held for them, it was going to be fantastic.

She brought her hand up to the back of his head and pulled him forward to kiss him once more. "I love you, too," she murmured into the kiss as he smiled against her lips. He then took her hand once again and swung it happily between them as they headed out.

-:-:-:-

The Doctor and Rose were lost in their own blissful little world as they made their way through Torchwood heading back to the TARDIS after lunch. They were stealing kisses and laughing softy and almost ran right into the man coming around the corner. All three abruptly stopped and took a step back.

"Rose!" the man said enthusiastically. "I've been looking for you."

"Joron!" Rose greeted brightly. "I was gonna come 'round and say hello once I got the chance."

"You came back," he said delightedly. "I didn't think you would be returning."

She looked up at the Doctor, her eyes twinkling. "I found what I was looking for. Joron, this is the Doctor," she introduced.

The tension between the two was visible as they shook hands, both gripping just a little tighter than necessary. Each knew of the other, and they already shared an equal disdain.

The man appeared to be in his mid-thirties, was tall, (but about a quarter of an inch shorter than the Doctor, he noted with satisfaction), had dark hair, a muscular build, and chiseled features. He looked just a little too much like a male model for the Doctor's liking.

"So, _you're_ the famous Doctor," Joron remarked, sounding completely unimpressed as he sized him up. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Can't say I've heard much about you," the Doctor replied nonchalantly. Rose surreptitiously poked him in the side.

"Rose tells me you're not from Earth," Joron continued.

The Doctor drew himself up straight, using every centimeter of his height advantage to tower over the other man imposingly. "I'm a Time Lord," he replied in that superior tone which made people and planets sit up and take notice.

"Never heard of them. Am I supposed to be impressed?" Joron asked flatly as he took a challenging step closer.

The Doctor smirked and mimicked his stance as he, too, stepped closer. "Those with intelligence usually are," he assured him.

"Okaaaay, let's just tone-down the testosterone, shall we?" Rose interjected as she stepped between them and placed a dividing hand on both their chests.

The Doctor and Joron both took a step back, but continued to firmly hold each other's gaze. After a highly tense moment, Joron then focused back on Rose. He brushed her arm intimately with his hand in a way that made the Doctor clench his jaw, then leaned in closer towards her. "I'll see you later, Rose," he said, his tone dipping low.

"Yeah," she responded, trying to interject cheeriness in her tone, "we should all get together for a bite to eat or something before you leave."

The Doctor put his arm around Rose possessively. "Brilliant idea!" he spoke up with false cheer. "Rose and _I _could meet you at the chippie 'round the corner! So when _are_ you leaving?" he asked bluntly, ignoring the glare from Rose.

"I had planned to leave within a few days, but I think I may have just found a reason to postpone it a bit longer," Joron said, while never taking his eyes off Rose.

The Doctor cleared his throat exaggeratedly. "Yes, well, I'm flattered. But don't feel the need to stay longer on my account," he quipped sarcastically. "Now if you'll excuse us, we have to get back to our repairs. Rose was just saying to me in _bed_ this morning what a busy day this was going to be, so we better get back to it."

Rose shot the Doctor another look which he purposely ignored as he led her back down the corridor, his arm still firmly around her. It wasn't just jealously he was feeling, though that was undeniably a part of it. The Doctor didn't trust this man. And he would learn all too soon that he had every reason to feel that way.

Joron watched them go, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Ah, Rose," he murmured to himself. "Oh, this is almost too perfect," he chuckled darkly. He then turned to leave, already making plans that would soon change the lives of all concerned.


	11. Chapter 11

**Yet another twist to the story. It's always made sense to me to think of 10.5's physiology in this way. Even though he's part human, he is still, after all, part Time Lord.**

* * *

The Doctor continued marching them down the corridor and away from the direction of Joron. Rose finally shrugged out of his grasp once they reached the TARDIS.

"Doctor, that was rude!" she scolded.

"Yeah? Well get used to it," he said unapologetically.

Rose stepped in front of him, forcing him to a stop. "Excuse me?" she challenged.

He deflated and let out a sigh. "I'm sorry. But I don't trust him, Rose."

She folded her arms across her chest. "Don't trust him or don't trust _me_?"

"Rose, he's a warrior. Zendorians have fighting in their blood."

"I know," she replied. "I've seen that side to him, seen the anger. And you know what? He reminded me of you." The Doctor stuffed his hands in his pockets and swallowed thickly. "You when we first met. He has lost so many that he cared about — I should think you could sympathize," she added. "And so I tried to be a friend to him."

"Well that's clearly not how he sees it," he replied tersely.

"I don't care how he sees it. But I do care how _you_ see it."

The Doctor blew out a long breath. "I suppose I just don't like the idea of someone else showing you the stars in my absence," he admitted, while gazing down at the tops of his trainers. "I know that sounds selfish, but that's how I feel."

Rose smiled softly. "You showed Martha and Donna the stars in _my_ absence," she pointed out.

His head snapped up. "That was different."

"How?"

"They were just friends."

"And Joron and I were just friends. Besides, it was just three trips, and it was _not _like when you and I traveled together," Rose assured him.

His lips twitched in a half smile. "Yeah?"

Rose smiled slowly as she took a step closer. "Yeah." She draped her arms around his neck as his hands came to rest on her waist. "I've never seen you this...possessive."

"Oh, I've felt this way before," he drawled. "Let's see, there was Mickey and Adam and Jack," he rattled off, then locked eyes with her once more. "But now that I've got these human hormones thrown into the mix, I think you're going to find I have a harder time of suppressing it and can be much more aggressive." He dropped his voice an octave lower. "Complaining?"

Rose slowly traced a finger down his tie. "Not at all." Then she leaned in closer to his ear. "It's actually quite a turn-on."

A low growl rumbled in his throat as his head dipped down to claim her mouth with his own, and Rose reached up to thread her fingers through his hair as her tongue battled his for dominance. After several moments, his lips found their way to her neck, then continued lower. The top button of her blouse seemed to come undone of its own accord, and the Doctor took advantage of the extra slack to nudge the garment back slightly from her shoulder and place open-mouthed kisses on the exposed skin as his fingers drifted down to toy with the second button of her blouse.

Rose knew if she didn't somehow find the resolve to slow this down now, she never would. "Doctor," she whispered breathlessly.

"Hmmm?" he responded absently, preoccupied with his current activities.

"We're supposed to be taking things slow, remember?"

The Doctor pulled back and gave her a smoldering look. "I can go _very_ slow…"

Rose bit back the whimper that threatened to escape her lips. Just the way he was looking at her made her melt inside. "You know what I mean," she said reluctantly as she straightened her now disheveled clothing.

The Doctor sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry."

She placed a finger on his lips. "Don't be. I _want_ this with you. I want us to have everything together. But I also want to take our time with this," she said, as the Doctor took several deep breaths to get himself back under control. Rose then cast a glance over at the console. "Plus right now I think we have some repairs to get back to."

The Doctor quickly brightened at the mention of that. "No time at all, Rose Tyler, and _I'll_ be the one showing you the stars again," he said exuberantly.

He then tossed his jacket onto the jump seat and rolled up his sleeves as he scooted back under the console to get back to work. Rose sighed dreamily as she watched him. "You show me the stars every time you touch me," she whispered to herself.

-:-:-:-

The Doctor was only half focusing on the work he was doing. His mind kept going back to Joron. "_He might have found a reason to stay longer," _he grumbled to himself. "_Just what did he mean by that?" _The Doctor knew _exactly_ what Joron meant by that, and that's what was bothering him. There were no doubts in the Doctor's mind about his relationship with Rose or where he stood with her. But that didn't stop the uneasy feeling this man gave him. The Doctor wasn't comfortable with _anyone_ looking at Rose in such a predatory way (with the exception of himself, of course).

He was so distracted by his thoughts that his hand slipped and he cut it on a sharp edge of metal exposed under the console. He hissed in pain and quickly stood up.

Rose looked up from the other side of the console where she was working. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he snapped, as he cradled his hand. He didn't mean to sound angry. He was just angry at himself for letting Joron get to him like that.

Rose ignored his foul mood and came up to check his injury. She sucked in a breath when she saw his hand. "That's not nothing. You've practically sliced your hand open!" She grabbed a rag off the floor. "Here," she began, as she wrapped it around his hand, "this isn't exactly sanitary, but we need to stop the bleeding. Now, let's get you to the infirmary and see if the dermal regenerator is still working. If not, you'll have to go down to the med-bay."

"I can't," he protested. "I'm in the middle of calibrating the plasma coils, and I can't just leave it, not right now."

"Then I'll do it," she offered. "You've shown me how. Just go get that hand taken care of."

"Fine," he huffed, very much like a petulant child.

He made his way down the TARDIS corridor towards the infirmary, annoyed with his body's new vulnerabilities and muttering about 'bloody human weaknesses.' By the time he reached the room, however, his hand had stopped throbbing and the bleeding had stopped. He unwrapped the cloth and inspected his hand. He quickly found something to wash it off with and stared in disbelief at what he saw. The wound was already beginning to heal.

His mind began racing with the implications of what that could mean. Now that he was part human, he knew he could no longer regenerate. But even still, perhaps he had been too quick to assume that meant his Time Lord side was suppressed when it came to his body's renewing capabilities. Perhaps he had also been too hasty in thinking he would have an ordinary human lifespan. He quickly began working to bring one of the scanners online so he could find out for certain.

Once the scan was complete, he pulled out his specs to examine the results. The Doctor felt his throat constrict as he viewed the information before his eyes. It was true that he only had one life and would grow old and never regenerate, but apparently it would be a _long_ while before that happened. Although he would eventually age, it would happen at a very slow rate. And even without being able to regenerate, evidently his body still had superior regenerative capabilities, as evidenced by his rapidly-healing hand.

The Doctor removed his glasses and sat limply on a stool as his mind swirled with thoughts of what this would mean for him and Rose. It wasn't that he wanted to _die_, but he didn't want to live on alone. He had been cursed by that fate for centuries — having to live on while he eventually lost everyone he ever cared about.

The taunting words of the Krillitane filtered back through his mind.

"_Their lives are so fleeting. So many goodbyes. How lonely you must be, Doctor."_

This was the very thing that had kept him from allowing himself to act upon his feelings for Rose in the past, kept him from getting too close. He knew he would eventually face the pain of losing her.

He thought back to the conversation he once had with Rose where he told her of that harsh truth.

"_Humans decay. You wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone who you…"_

"_What, Doctor?"_

"_You can spend the rest of your life with me. But I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on._ _Alone. That's the curse of the Time Lords."_

This was one of the justifications he gave himself for leaving her with a version of him who he thought would have a lifetime to match her own. He told Rose they would now grow old at the same time — together.

Apparently the universe had other ideas.

As he continued to ponder these things, he reached a firm decision. He resolved that this would not change anything as far as his relationship with Rose was concerned. He might have let this be an issue to keep them apart in the past, but he was _not_ going to let it come between them now. Whether they had a few days or a few decades together, he was going to stay with her for however much time they could have, even if it meant he would be alone in the end.

He just wasn't sure how to go about telling Rose this. They were still trying to adjust to everything, and she'd already had so much thrown at her these past few days. He _would_ tell her, of course. He just felt he needed to wait for the right time.

"Curse of the Time Lords," he murmured to himself. "Two universes and not one of them gets it right."


	12. Chapter 12

**A HUGE thank you to everyone who has read, favorited and reviewed thus far! I can't tell you how much that means to me! :)**

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The next few days seemed to pass quickly. The TARDIS had once again come back to life and was steadily regaining strength. The repairs to the ship were nearly complete. The Doctor was also pleased that the work on the TARDIS had kept him and Rose both occupied and away from Joron.

The Doctor still had not found the right time to tell Rose what he had discovered about himself. Things were going seamlessly between them, and he didn't want to spoil that.

On the fifth day after the repairs had begun, the TARDIS was finally ready for light travel. The Doctor and Rose stood back to admire the beautiful green glow and steady hum now emanating from the Time Rotor.

The Doctor turned to Rose, beaming. "I'd say it's time to take her for a trial-run. What'd you say?"

Rose grinned back at him. "Oh, yes!" she replied excitedly. "Where should we go?"

"Well, we can't make too many trips yet. We should probably start slow and let her rest in between until she gains full-strength; but I think I know the perfect place for our first trip in this universe."

He stepped in front of Rose and took both her hands in his. "Would you care to accompany me to dinner?" he asked in a proper, gentlemanly tone.

Rose grinned. "Is this you asking me on a date? I mean…a _proper_ date. Not just where we go get chips and _I_ pay?"

"This is me asking you on a date," he confirmed. "You said we should take things slow, so we'll start with a date."

"I think we already started with a bit more than that," she teased, her voice sultry.

A rush of heat surged through him at the recent memories as he tugged on his ear in thought. "Ah, well…yes. Fair point. But we can still do this, too."

Rose draped her arms around his neck. "I would _love_ to go out with you on a date."

He grinned widely in response and made that adorable, happy sound in the back of his throat that Rose loved so much. "You _will_ love it, trust me," he replied with confidence.

Before he could get distracted by their close proximity (something that seemed to be occurring quite a lot lately), she released him from the embrace and quickly skipped off down the corridor. "Just let me go to the wardrobe room and find something appropriate," she called back to him.

He smiled as he watched her go, feeling overjoyed at being able to share this with her as all of time and space lay waiting for them once again. The Doctor in the TARDIS with Rose Tyler, just as it should be.

The Doctor settled himself on the jump seat with his legs stretched out and feet propped on the console, admiring his handiwork. But his attention was soon shifted to the door as Jackie stepped through and approached. He quickly stood, surprised to see her there. Pete had stopped by several times during the repairs, but Jackie had been noticeably absent. He and Rose had gone to dinner with her parents several times, but Jackie had been uncharacteristically quiet about discussing the TARDIS. He sensed she wasn't too pleased that he and Rose would soon be back out there traveling again after thinking her daughter would be spending at least a few 'normal' years on Earth.

"Jackie," he greeted brightly as he hopped up, "You're just in time to see us off. I was going to take Rose to dinner for our first trip in the TARDIS."

Jackie eyed the console up and down warily. "Are you sure this thing's fit for travel?" she queried.

"Fit as a fiddle!" he enthused. "We won't be traveling permanently yet. Just a few trips here and there to break her in first."

The Doctor then began to fidget nervously, not entirely comfortable being alone with Jackie without having Rose there as a buffer. He cleared his throat. "Rose should be out in just a few minutes. She's getting ready." Then he pondered that for a moment as he tilted his head to the side. "Actually, it might be more than a few minutes. You know how wome...," he trailed off before finishing, realizing that making a remark about women's lack of punctuality might not be the wisest thing to say in the company of a woman — particularly one who was known to give him a good slap on occasion.

"Well, it's actually you I wanted to talk to," she said.

"Me?" he replied, his voice coming out in a much higher squeak than he intended.

Jackie exhaled deeply. "Just promise me you'll take care of her…and that you'll always protect her and keep her safe."

"I will," he assured her.

"And I don't just mean protect her life — protect her heart," she added firmly. "Rose loves you more than anything in this world, which means you have the power to hurt her more than anything in this world."

The Doctor's expression was somber. "I _never_ want to hurt her. I love your daughter, Jackie, and I want to make her happy and give her everything she deserves. I know I've hurt her in the past, but I want to do everything I can to make up for that now."

"You _did_ hurt her," she said sternly. "You don't know how broken Rose was when we first came here. You weren't there when she cried herself to sleep every night for weeks, slipped into depression and never left the house, and could barely even eat. But then she pulled herself together and built her entire life around one single purpose: to get back to you again. Then when she finally did, the other you, or whatever it is you want to call yourself, brought her right back again and left."

The Doctor swallowed thickly as Jackie's words cut him to the quick. But then she surprised him with what she said next.

"But you know what? You did the right thing. When I followed Rose into that other universe it was because I thought it might be my last chance to ever see her again. But you kept your promise to me and you brought her back home. And even if Rose hasn't fully accepted that yet, one day she'll see that it was right. By walking away, you gave her a chance for _this_ life. And I'll always be grateful to you for that."

The Doctor didn't know quite what to say. "Jackie...I..."

"Oh, you don't have to say anything, you great big alien goof. Come 'ere!"

She didn't even give him a chance to react before she advanced upon him and wrapped him in a hug, which he found himself willingly returning.

She released him and smiled. "Now I've gotta get going. I don't want to take a chance on getting trapped in this thing again. Besides, I came down here to meet Pete. He's taking me out to dinner, too."

She began heading down the ramp, then turned back. "You two just be careful and don't go getting yourselves stuck on the Moon, or somethin'."

The Doctor had to hide a smirk. _If only Jackie knew the destination he had in mind_, he thought to himself.

-:-:-:-

It wasn't long before Rose re-emerged back in the console room. Her hair was styled in loose, tousled curls cascading down her shoulders. She was wearing a figure-hugging black dress with a deep V-neckline and length that came just below the knee, with black, strappy heels.

The Doctor was rendered speechless at the sight of her and was practically salivating. A sultry smile played across Rose's lips as she strode up to him.

"I believe this is where you're supposed to say I look beautiful_...considering._"

The Doctor licked his lips and attempted to form words in his mouth that had suddenly gone dry. "You are beautiful," he finally managed to say. "Considering..." Rose arched a quizzical brow. "Considering that in spite of your gorgeous appearance right now, there has not been a single time I've laid eyes on you that you haven't taken my breath away."

She smiled slowly and reached up to straighten his tie, but then used it to pull him down towards her. "You're rather gorgeous yourself," she breathed across his lips. He moved his lips closer to hers, but she edged away, smiling coyly as he growled in frustration.

Rose stepped up to the console then spun back around towards him as she rested both hands against it and leaned back slightly, a glint in her eye as she focused her gaze on him. "So, where do you want to take me?" she asked innocently, yet the tip of her tongue peeking out between her teeth said she chose her words deliberately.

The Doctor regarded her with a hungry, almost predatory expression, then rather obviously swept his gaze back down the corridor.

She cleared her throat. "I mean for _dinner_."

He walked up to her with deliberate strides, not stopping until he was within inches. "Tease," he growled as he ran a finger across her jawline, causing Rose's pulse to quicken.

He edged himself away from her long enough to enter the coordinates. "And you know you love it," she murmured. He lifted his eyes to cast her a dangerously smoldering look that said _yes_, he most certainly did.

The hot and heavy mood was soon tinged with excitement as the Time Rotor began to rise and fall rhythmically, and the TARDIS whirred into life. They landed with the familiar shudder and jolt which threw them into each other and had them laughing so hard they were practically in tears. Once they regained their balance, The Doctor proffered his arm and escorted Rose down the ramp, both grinning widely.

"So, where are we?" Rose asked as they reached the door, pulsing with the same excitement she felt on their first trip together. _Oh_, how they had both missed this.

The Doctor gave her a proud grin as he extended his hand out towards the door and waggled his eyebrows. "Why don't you see for yourself?"


	13. Chapter 13

**The calm before the storm. A romantic interlude before the angst that is soon to come.**

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Rose gasped as she stepped out of the TARDIS and took in their surroundings. "We're...we're on the _Moon_," she said in astonishment. "We're actually on the Moon!"

"Welcome to the forty-first century," the Doctor proclaimed proudly. "They've made this into a lovely tourist destination. Much better than a hospital," he added thoughtfully. "And I must say I'm relieved to find it here. Parallel universe...you never can tell. I'd hate to have arrived and discovered that in this universe it was turned into a landfill, or something equally unpleasant. That would hardly be appropriate for our first proper date."

Rose continued gazing around in amazement. "We're really on the Moon," she repeated. "And we're breathing!"

"Atmospheric shell," he explained. "Quite ingenious, actually…"

Before he could go off on a scientific ramble about how this innovation was possible, a transportation pod approached and stopped in front of them. "Ah, here's our ride," he said happily as he ushered her inside. "Allons-y!"

Rose was enthralled as they arrived at the restaurant – a magnificent structure which appeared to be made entirely of glass to take advantage of the spectacular view. They were seated over at the outer edge of the room where they could overlook the Earth out on the rocky, silver horizon.

"Now _that_ is what I call a view," Rose commented, still awestruck.

The Doctor's eyes, however, had not left hers. "Mmm, it certainly is," he replied.

She looked back to him and smiled. "I was talking about the view outside."

He shook his head. "I've found one _much_ more captivating."

Rose blushed slightly under his intense gaze. "I still can't believe we're really together again. And...like this."

"I feel more alive than I have in my entire life," he said. "I spent so long alone thinking that my time was coming to an end. Yet here I am — with you." He reached across the table and took her hand, then turned her palm up to trace circular patterns on her skin with his thumb. "There were times when I tried to imagine what your life was like here with what I thought was my duplicate. I'd hoped you were having the most fantastic life possible. And that's what I want to give you, Rose," he said, his heart full of sincerity.

Rose smiled wistfully and turned to gaze back out the window. When she brought her eyes back to his, they were misted with tears. "I know you eventually came back to me, but I wish you didn't have to be out there alone right now. I still think about the past version of you, even though you're now here with me," she said softly, with a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Does that make sense?"

The Doctor smiled gently as he continued stroking her palm. He took in a long, deep breath. "I can tell you that right now the past version of me is thinking of you too, Rose. I never once stopped. Even at times when I tried to push those thoughts out of my mind because they were too painful, I couldn't. You were always there. But going through that time alone was all worth it in the end to eventually be able to come back to you again."

She had no words in that moment. Rose blinked back tears as she leaned in closer and brushed her lips to his.

-:-:-:-

Over the course of dinner, they delved into very intimate conversations. The Doctor opened up to Rose about things he hadn't spoken of in a very long time; Susan, Romana, even the Time War. He still, however, had not told her about what he had discovered concerning his lifespan. Somehow, it just didn't feel like it was the right moment for him to do so.

Nevertheless, the open atmosphere they had created also led Rose to share with him some things that had never before been discussed between them.

"There's something I never told you," she began a bit hesitantly. "But I...well...," she blew out a breath in frustration, then seemed to reconsider what she had been about to say. "Oh, it doesn't even matter anymore. I don't know why I even brought it up."

The Doctor took her hand and squeezed it softly as he gazed intently into her eyes. "Tell me," he encouraged.

She dropped her eyes from his as she spoke quietly. "Back when we were traveling together before, I…well, there was a time when I thought about leaving."

The Doctor was taken aback by this revelation. His mind began racing back over their travels together, and came to what he thought could have been the reason for that. "It was that trip to 1987, wasn't it?" he said guiltily. "Rose, I didn't mean what I said then. You are NOT a stupid ape, and I never really would have left you there. I—"

"No," she broke in, "it wasn't that. I mean, yeah, we were both angry at the time; but afterwards I think it just brought us closer together."

He knit his brows together in thought. "It was the Gelth," he concluded. "You had been right about them and I was wrong. But I told you it was a different morality and to get used to it or go home." He scrubbed a hand down his face. "No wonder you thought about leaving. I pretty much told you to. I was so _moody_ back then," he muttered.

Rose smiled softly. "No, it wasn't that, either. It wasn't even when you were that version of yourself."

"Then what was it?" he asked in bewilderment and slight worry, wondering just how many times he might have made a jerk of himself.

Rose hesitated for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper. "Reinette."

The Doctor instantly stiffened. The memory of that incident still stung for both of them, and each for a different reason. This was a subject that had never been broached between them. Afterwards, he just put on a false smile and said he was always alright, and then the next day it was back to business as usual as if nothing happened, and it was never spoken of again.

"It wasn't because I was jealous," Rose continued. "Although I suppose I was," she then admitted. "She was rich and beautiful and well-educated — all the things I felt like I wasn't."

"Rose..."

"No, just...let me finish. I've waited a long time to let this out, so just...let me say this." He nodded his head and remained silent as she continued. "But it wasn't like I had any real hold over you back then. I understood your attraction to her, and you were free to…to be with whoever you wanted." She took a breath before continuing. "But what hurt the most was that you just left me. You left me behind on that spaceship knowing at the time you might never come back. You just turned your back and went without even thinking about me." The pain of that incident, now coupled with the recent memory of him once again leaving her, was evident as he saw the hurt reflecting in her eyes.

"Leaving you behind is something I seem to have done a little too often," the Doctor noted quietly. He lifted his eyes to hers. "You were right, I wasn't thinking of you when I did that," he replied honestly, and Rose tried not to look even more hurt as her feelings were confirmed. "But then after I had done it, you were _all_ I thought about. I looked up at that shattered mirror and all I could see was your face."

They were both silent for a few minutes as they relived the memories of that day. Finally, he continued. "But Rose, I was just trying to save her life, and in that moment I didn't know any other way to do it."

"I know. Because that's what you do, and I love you for it," she replied with a soft smile.

Since they had finally begun the conversation about this incident they had never before spoken of, the Doctor decided he might as well get everything out in the open; so he took a deep breath and continued on.

"After Reinette showed me that she'd made a way for me to get back, I was so overjoyed, so grateful, that I offered to take her on a trip because I felt like it was the least I could do. But I wasn't in love with her," he stated abruptly. "I'll admit that I was...attracted to her, and I was drawn to her intelligence — not that you have less intelligence, don't ever think that. But to be perfectly honest, she was a distraction from my feelings for you." He blew out a breath. "I felt myself getting too close to you — had been for a while. And I thought I could never let that happen, could never act upon that," he shook his head ruefully, "for reasons that all seem unimportant now. But Rose, I never meant to hurt you."

She placed her hand on his arm and smiled. "I know."

He smiled gently in return. "So why didn't you leave?" he asked softly.

She laughed slightly. "I got as far as pulling out a few things to pack, but then I just couldn't do it. I loved you too much at that point — had for quite a while. I knew I always would, even if you could never return those feelings. And Sarah Jane was right: Some things are worth getting your heart broken for." She took a deep breath. "Remember when I said that I made my choice a long time ago and I was never gonna leave you? That's the day I decided it. I decided that no matter what, I would always stay with you."

The Doctor reached forward and cupped the side of her face with his hand, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb as she inclined into his touch. "And that's the choice I've made now. I will never leave you again, Rose. I promise."

Deep in her heart, she knew his words were true. Rose had erected protective walls around her heart the day he turned his back and left her standing on the beach, and had since been trying to force them back down. But the last of those walls began falling away of their own accord in this moment as she focused on their future and resolved to lay aside the past.

-:-:-:-

After their meal, they strolled outside onto the balcony together, grateful for the bit of seclusion it provided since no one was in front of the windows at that particular spot, and for the fact that they were the only two out there at the moment. The Doctor stood behind Rose with his arms encircled around her waist and the side of his face resting against her head, holding her close to him as they gazed out at the luminescent Earth below. After a few moments, she turned in his arms and placed her hands on his chest, pausing briefly over his single heart, his heart that belonged solely to her, as she gazed into his adoring eyes.

"Thank you for taking me here. I love this. I love being with you," she said, her voice enchanted. "Even if we didn't have the planets and the stars and all of time, just being with you is enough for me."

The Doctor dipped his head down to kiss her tenderly, then eased back. "None of this was the same when I was without you," he said softly. "Seeing this with you is what makes it worth it to me."

Before she even had a moment to respond, his lips were on hers once more. But this time it was not restrained or gentle, but filled with a fire and passion that set them both aflame. His tongue swept across her bottom lip and she opened for him without thought. Her stomach fluttered as his tongue slid languidly against hers. He explored her as thoroughly as if it were their first kiss, and she in turn did the same. This felt so right, so perfect, that neither one could fathom why there was a time when they ever held their feelings back with each other.

Rose's hands skimmed down his chest, and then seemed to move of their own accord as she slid underneath his jacket and around to his back where she fisted his shirt in her hands. She was only vaguely aware that she had managed to untuck his shirt from his trousers as her hands slipped beneath the fabric, seeking contact with his bare skin as her fingers swept across the taught muscles of his lower back, her touch intensifying the flame of desire between them.

The Doctor's own hands were not inactive as they moved from her waist to ghost up her ribcage, before taking advantage of her backless dress that had been tempting him all evening and moving to the exposed skin, caressing the soft flesh beneath his fingers and causing Rose to moan into the kiss. Her reaction fired off another jolt of desire as his hips pressed firmly into hers, and he couldn't hold back the deep groan that reverberated in his throat.

After a final thorough and breathtaking sweep of her mouth with his tongue, he broke free from the kiss to give them both a few deep gulps of much-needed oxygen, then fastened his lips to her neck, teeth grazing gently, as his hands drifted lower down her back, then lower still, squeezing possessively as he pressed her firmly into him, his growing desire evident.

Despite her dizzy and dazed state, Rose somehow managed to come to her senses. "Doctor," she whispered throatily, her breath coming out in little pants.

"Mmmm?" he half murmured/half growled against her skin.

"Do you realize we're doing this in front of the entire planet Earth?"

He slowly pulled back, and the look he gave her caused a shiver to run from her head to her toes, and Rose thought she might liquefy on the spot. "Why do you think I brought you up here?" he husked, his voice low and seductive.

"You're insatiable!" she squeaked.

He brought his lips to within inches of her ear. "And you know you love it," he breathed.

The blush that ran through her made her feel like she was set on fire. "Yes," she finally rasped. Rose took his hand in hers and swallowed heavily. "But let's...let's not continue this here," she said, as her eyes darted away from his in slight nervousness. "We could go back to the TARDIS, and..."

"Shhhh," he shushed her with a finger on her lips, then moved his hand to cradle the side of her face. "Not yet," he whispered tenderly. When he made love to Rose, he wanted complete openness between them. And there was still one thing he needed to tell her. Plus, her body might be saying yes in this moment, but he could still see a slight hesitancy in her eyes, and he was not going to push her for this. "We have time, Rose. If you're not completely ready, then neither am I. Like you said, we can take this slow." He trailed his fingers down her arm to her hand, where he linked their fingers together and smiled softly. "And it is going to be _perfect_."

It was then Rose discovered something she didn't think possible. Despite being completely consumed by her love for him, she fell in love just a little bit more in that moment.


	14. Chapter 14

***sigh* Things just never seem to go smoothly for long when it comes to these two.**

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The TARDIS had handled her first trip out beautifully, but the Doctor didn't want to push the ship; so they returned to give it a brief rest before their next outing. They had come back to Torchwood so they would have access to the various tools and technology at their disposal as they continued to fine-tune the final repairs to the TARDIS.

The night before, the Doctor had run another thorough scan of himself in the infirmary, which confirmed his initial findings. He decided he had put it off long enough, and he resolved to tell Rose what he had discovered about himself the next day after they finished work on the TARDIS.

-:-

They resumed repairs early the next morning, and carried on through the afternoon. The Doctor lay beneath the console working, with Rose nearby.

"I can't find the binary stabilization clamp," he called out to Rose as he peeked his head out from under the console.

Rose looked up from the group of wires she was attempting to solder. "I'm pretty sure there's one out in the storage room somewhere," she replied, indicating outside the TARDIS.

The Doctor pulled himself up and headed down the ramp. Rose grinned to herself, knowing it could be a while before he came back once he began looking through Torchwood's stash of alien tech. He'd be like a kid in a toy store.

The tedious work Rose was performing was difficult, and as she grasped the wires with one hand, the other slipped and she burned her finger. She winced and quickly sucked it into her mouth. It wasn't too bad, but she wouldn't be able to continue working with it the way it was. She stood up and headed to the infirmary so she could get it taken care of and then get back to work.

She found the dermal regenerator and sat on a stool as she ran it over her finger. Rose glanced up at the monitor in front of her which displayed data from a recent scan. Unlike readings from the console, the TARDIS always translated the readings in the infirmary. It didn't take her long to realize who the scan had been of, considering there was only one male, human/Time Lord in existence. Rose quickly became concerned thinking that maybe there was something wrong with the Doctor that he hadn't told her about, and so began reading through the information from the scan. Parts of it were difficult to decipher, but one thing about the final analysis was very clear.

Rose felt as if the air had suddenly left her lungs as she processed the information before her. A multitude of unsettling thoughts began swirling in her mind. What she had come to believe about her and the Doctor's new life together – him having a matching lifetime to spend with her – was now shattered. This could possibly put them right back to where they had once been before. The fact that she would wither and die and he would not had once been the dividing line between them. But at this moment, that was not the prevailing thought in her mind. The one realization burning its way through her thoughts was that the Doctor had obviously known about this and had been keeping it from her. In this moment of hurt and confusion, she wondered if maybe the Doctor had known about this all along.

Rose found herself circling back to the same question she had asked him before: Had he ever once spoken the truth to her?

She stood, feeling numb, and slowly walked back to the console room. The Doctor returned a few minutes later and came to an abrupt halt when he saw the distraught look on her face.

"Rose? Is something wrong?" he asked in concern.

She looked at him, her expression a mixture of hurt and anger. "I just came from the infirmary," she said slowly, and the Doctor instantly tensed. He knew what this meant. "Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered, her voice breaking.

He didn't have to ask what she was referring to. "I was going to tell you, Rose."

She shook her head and tried to fight back tears. "How long have you known?"

He shifted a little as he gazed down at his feet. "About a week," he confessed.

"So you've been lying to me," she accused.

His head snapped back up. "I didn't lie to you, Rose."

"But you haven't been honest with me!" she threw back. "I suppose a lie by omission doesn't count. And how long were you planning on keeping this from me? Were you just gonna wait until I started getting old and gray and you still hadn't aged a day before you decided to tell me?" she asked angrily.

The Doctor exhaled deeply. "I was going to tell you. _Today_. I had just been waiting for the right time." He took a few steps closer to her. "But this doesn't change anything, Rose," he insisted.

"This changes _everything_!" she retorted, her voice rising higher. "This is what kept us apart before!"

"But I'm not going to let that come between us now," he promised. "However much time we have together, I am _going_ to spend it with you," he said firmly.

"And watch me wither and die," she replied bitterly.

"If I have to," he answered, his voice firm. He wanted her to know without a doubt that he didn't plan on running away from this – from his fear of losing her much too soon. "But Rose," he continued more gently, "I've been giving this some thought, and now that we have the TARDIS and are able to travel again, maybe there are things we could try at some point. In the future there are advancements that have been made that can extend longevity, prolong life – at least to some extent."

Rose laughed bitterly. "Yeah, I've seen the results of that – _Cassandra_. Is that what you want to turn me into?" she asked sarcastically.

He ran both hands through his hair in frustration. "I don't mean like that. But there are other..." he trailed off and shook his head. "What do you want me to say, Rose? That I'm sorry I won't die as soon as we thought? Because as daft as it sounds, I _am_! Do you think I want to live on _alone_? That's the way I've had to live my life for centuries."

"That's not what this is about!" she all but yelled.

He threw his hands up in exasperation. "Then what _is_ it about?"

"This is about you not being honest with me!" She lowered her voice and narrowed her gaze. "You've known about this all along, haven't you?"

"What?"

"Did you _both_ know all the time? '_I'll grow old and never regenerate. I've only got one life…I could spend it with you'," _she quoted. "Was that just a lie to try and manipulate me into staying here and choosing you?" she accused.

The Doctor was beginning to get angry himself at this point. "Okay, first of all, when you say 'both' and talk about choosing _me_, there's _just_ me, remember? I'm the same man. And _no_, I didn't know about this all along, either time." The muscles in his jaw tensed. "Is that what you really think? Do you honestly believe I would lie to you to manipulate you into staying here?"

"But you already did! That day on the beach, you – the other you – told me that you wouldn't be alone, that you would have Donna with you; even though you knew at the time that it was a lie because you were trying to convince me to stay." Rose shook her head and looked away, then turned back to face him. "So what am I supposed to believe now?"

The Doctor scrubbed his hands down his face. "I told you I was sorry for that, and that I had made mistakes. But I also told you that I wasn't going to make those same mistakes again. And I meant it. I _was_ going to tell you about this, Rose."

"Then why didn't you?" she asked angrily.

"Because I was afraid of how you would react. And apparently I had good reason to think that way. Everything is out in the open now, and look where it's gotten me! Maybe we should rethink this whole 'open and honest' policy," he said sharply.

He regretted the words as soon as he'd said them. That remark obviously wasn't going to help the situation.

He let out a long breath. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"No. No, don't apologize." Rose shrugged her shoulders in defeat. "At least now you're _finally_ being honest." She then turned to leave.

"Rose," he sighed wearily as he came towards her.

She stopped and looked back. "No," she shook her head as she backed away from him. "Just…don't. I need…I need to be alone for a little while."

With that, she turned her back and left.

The Doctor heaved a long, heavy sigh. He felt like turning and kicking the console, but he'd been down that road before and all it accomplished was giving him a sore foot. He shoved his hands deep in his pockets and sat down hard on the jump seat. Why did it seem like he and Rose kept taking three steps forward and two steps back? Yet he knew this was his fault for keeping this from her – he should have told her right away. He couldn't blame her for reacting the way she did. This was _not_ the way he had wanted her to find out about this.

The Doctor wanted to go after Rose right then and try to make amends, but he knew she needed some time to calm down and collect her thoughts, and he thought it was probably best to give her that space for the time being. The Doctor let out another sigh. He never realized relationships could be so complicated. Although, he was pretty certain the circumstances of their relationship were a bit more complicated than most.


	15. Chapter 15

**From bad to worse...**

* * *

Rose returned to her place feeling angry, hurt and miserable. But the more she thought things through, she felt less angry and hurt, and just generally miserable. She was not upset that the Doctor would have a longer lifespan than her for her own selfish reasons. Although, she did have unpleasant thoughts going through her mind of being old and decrepit while the Doctor was still young and strong. But what broke her heart in thinking about this was knowing that he would one day be left alone again. It seemed the promise of forever she had once made to him just wasn't meant to be. The Doctor, however, told her that he wasn't going to let that stand between them this time. And Rose knew this should just give them all the more reason to embrace this life they now had together and treat each day as a gift. She was upset that he had kept this from her; but the more she had time to clearly think about it, the more she truly believed that he _would_ have told her, just like he said.

Rose raked a hand through her hair in frustration as she replayed the heated words spoken between them. She was tired of this. Tired of the angst. Why did it seem they could get angry so quickly?

She realized it was called passion.

The love she and the Doctor had for each other consumed them both; and when you burn with an all-consuming passion for someone, there are going to be times when it explodes. Sometimes in _very_ good ways, and other times not so good.

But Rose was growing weary of continuing to circle back to this same issue of distrust. She was ready for it to end. The Doctor had made mistakes. He wasn't perfect. But then again, neither was she. No one is. She was ready to put the past behind them once and for all and embrace the future. As much as it hurt her that his past self had walked away and left her, she knew now that he had done the right thing. He was doing what he thought was right by giving her a chance for this life. And it was _this_ life the two of them were always destined for — as evidenced by the extraordinary events that brought him back to her again.

It was as if a weight lifted from her shoulders in this moment as she _finally_ reconciled these things in her heart. Without a single trace of doubt or hesitation, Rose knew she was now ready to give and to have everything with this man who had captured her heart from the word 'run'. Rose decided it was time to tell her 'take it slow' policy to jump off a cliff! She was ready to tell the Doctor and _show_ him just how much she loved him.

And the sooner the better.

Without caring about stupid pride or who had been right and who had been wrong, she made up her mind to run back to him just as fast as she could and tell him these things.

Rose was already grabbing her keys when she heard a knock at the door. Her heart soared yet broke at the same time. She was overjoyed to think the Doctor was here, but she never wanted to make him feel like he had to knock and couldn't just walk right in. She wanted him to feel he had as much right to walk in here as she did in the TARDIS.

She dropped her keys as she ran to the door and threw it open, ready to fling herself into his arms, but stopped abruptly when she realized who it was.

"Joron," she said, a bit startled as she took a step back. "I thought you were the Doctor."

"Well, I don't want you to _ever_ confuse the two of us," he said with a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. A smile Rose didn't return. She was not in the mood to listen to him take shots at the Doctor because of their rivalry.

"May I come in?" he asked.

"This really isn't a good time. I was just getting ready to leave," she told him.

"So was I, actually. That's why I wanted to see you. This won't take long," he insisted.

Rose decided if he was preparing to leave now she could at least give him a few minutes. "Yeah, okay." She stepped aside and he walked in, closing the door behind him.

"Come with me, Rose," he said abruptly.

Rose laughed. "I didn't even have a chance to ask you to sit down or offer you tea," she said jokingly, but could tell by the look in his eyes he was dead-serious. "I'm afraid my answer will have to be the same as the last time: No."

He looked at her hard, his eyes boring intensely into hers. "I don't think you understand. I wasn't _asking_ you, I was _telling_ you."

"What?" she replied indignantly. "Is this your idea of a joke?"

He took several steps towards her until she was uncomfortable with the closeness. "Rose, don't you see now that you and I were meant to be together? I had resigned myself to the fact that you would not be returning from the other universe. But you came back to me."

Rose moved back, putting a few steps distance between them. "I did not come back to _you_, I came back _with_ the Doctor," she said firmly.

"But you don't realize all I have to offer you," he went on. "I am soon to be the next Ruler of Zendor. You can share with me in that power, Rose."

Rose shook her head. "You told me your planet has a new Ruler, and that's what finally ended the fighting and brought about peace."

He scoffed bitterly. "Shor-el is NOT fit to be Zendor's Ruler. He is weak — a pacifist, and that weakness has spread to our people and made them indolent."

"He has brought your people peace!" she objected. "That is not a weakness. Would you rather the fighting and bloodshed continued? Your own wife was killed."

"She died in battle. Hers was an honorable death," he stated matter-of-factly, void of emotion.

"And so that makes it okay?" Rose asked incredulously.

"Yes. We are warriors. Fighting is our heritage. And when I take my rightful place as Ruler, the position once held by my grandfather, I will restore this to my people. Zendor will once again be a mighty planet that dominates all others."

Rose shook her head in disgust. "So your grand plan is to plunge your world back into fighting and darkness?"

He stared at her coldly. "Darkness is necessary and not to be shunned."

"Only someone with darkness in their soul would say such a thing," Rose replied, her voice low. "You're also insane if you think you can just go back and take over your entire planet."

He smiled wickedly. "Oh, I am not insane. I am prepared. I didn't flee the fighting, I left to re-group, to strategize. There are many others on my planet who share my beliefs and are loyal to me. We have remained in constant communication and they are waiting for my return. I have spent my time here not only creating weapons for Torchwood — I was building weapons for myself. The work is now complete."

"So you've been stockpiling weapons all this time and that's why you came here," Rose said in disbelief as she now began to learn the truth about him. She had seen and sensed the darkness in him on occasion, just below the surface, but never imagined he was capable of going this far or had been using Torchwood all along for this hidden agenda.

"Yes. That was my purpose in coming here. But I have found value here beyond just the weapons. I have found you." His voice was low as a look that could almost be described as animalistic flashed in his dark eyes. "And I am a man who takes what I want." He came even closer unit she was backed against the wall. Rose calculated her next move. She had defense training, but Joron was a skilled warrior. He was also armed and she was not. As tactical officer, he always carried a weapon at his side. The Doctor may not approve of weapons, but Rose was wishing she had her Torchwood issue gun on her at this moment. "You have an attraction to me as well, Rose. I can see it in your eyes." Rose was breathing heavily, her heart racing as he grasped her face in his hand, the other resting threateningly on his weapon. "The fear...," he said slowly as he moved himself in closer, "it excites you. Your Doctor could never make you feel like this." He then forced his lips to hers and kissed her roughly.

Rose wrenched away from him. "Don't touch me!" she hissed, as she quickly brought her knee up to thrust into him, but he blocked her, then twisted her around and held her firmly in his grasp, her arms pinned behind her.

He chuckled darkly. "This is what makes you suitable for me. You have such a fire in your belly."

"Yeah? Well you're about to get burned!" she replied through clenched teeth. "I will NEVER go willingly with you. And if I disappear at the same time you leave, it will only take the Doctor half a second to put two and two together. And he _will_ track you down," she warned.

He forced her down into a nearby chair. "Which is exactly why _you_ are going to tell him not to. You're going to tell him that you are leaving with me of your own choice."

She laughed sardonically. "Oh, you think so? Well you better think again!" Rose held his gaze, unflinching. "So what are you gonna do then, kill me?"

Joron pulled a device out from his pocket. "Not you. But I will kill your family if you force me to do so. That is why I think you are going to do exactly as I say, or face the consequences." He activated a holographic screen displaying the Tyler mansion. "Right now the weapons of my ship are trained on your family's home. If you do not cooperate, I will fire remotely from here and you will be forced to watch. It would be a difficult lesson for you, but you must learn obedience."

Rose's heart began pounding in her chest as she looked at the image of her mum and dad's home on the screen. She knew that they and Tony were most likely home at this very moment. Joron placed a computer in front of Rose where he planned to have her record a message to the Doctor.

"Now," he commanded, "you are going to say _exactly_ what I tell you."

A sick feeling grew in the pit of her stomach as Rose realized she had no other choice.


	16. Chapter 16

**The Doctor, of course, is not going to let this stand. But unfortunately for him and Rose, things are going to get worse before they get better.**

* * *

The Doctor had long since finished up the repairs to the TARDIS. The ship had exceeded his expectations in the amount of recovery time it would need, and now appeared to be in perfect working order. Despite initially thinking that the TARDIS would need to work up slowly before being ready for full-time travel, he was quite certain he and Rose could begin that now. He would have been overjoyed with that if it weren't for the fact that Rose wasn't on the best of terms with him at the moment. The TARDIS might be ready, but apparently the traveling was still going to have to wait.

With no repairs left to complete, the Doctor was now just idly tinkering. After several strong shocks from the console, the TARDIS had made it clear that enough was enough. The fact of the matter was he was stalling. He wasn't sure if Rose would be ready to talk to him yet or not.

The Doctor paced around trying to think of the best way to go about making up to her. Should he bring her some little token as a peace offering? Perhaps flowers, he thought. Human women liked that sort of thing, didn't they? Maybe roses? He quickly squelched that idea. No, that was just _too_ cliché.

He decided the best course of action was the direct approach. He would land the TARDIS right in her living room and tell her what he had to say whether she was ready to hear it or not. With a burst of confidence, he set the coordinates.

-:-:-:-

The door to the TARDIS squeaked open as the Doctor peered out into the downstairs living area. "Rose?" he called tentatively. No response.

He stepped out and glanced around. No sign of her on the main floor. He was heading for the stairs to check the loft when a sheet of paper sitting on the coffee table, which had his name written at the top, caught his eye. He picked it up and quickly read it. It was from Rose telling him she had left a message for him on her computer. This wasn't good, he thought to himself. Had things between them gotten to the point where she wouldn't even talk to him face-to-face?

He quickly switched on the computer and accessed the message. He watched as Rose's words played back to him.

She appeared even more distressed than the last time he saw her, he could see it in her eyes; but it was clear she was trying to remain neutral.

"Doctor," she began, her voice unsteady and having to clear her throat before continuing, "I'm sorry I wasn't able to tell you this in person, but I thought it would be better this way. What I have to tell you isn't easy, but it has to be said." She looked away from the screen and seemed to be struggling with the words that came next. "I'm leaving," Rose finally said. "I've decided to go with Joron."

The Doctor instantly felt as if he'd been punched in the stomach. She couldn't possibly mean that! He could feel his pulse quicken as he continued to listen in utter disbelief.

"I know now that he is the one I want to be with. The one...," she stammered, "the one I...love. I understand now that the feelings I had for you were that of a childish infatuation. But things between us are never going to work. It's just not possible." She paused for a moment before continuing. "But Joron is the kind of man I can build a life with, and that is what I have chosen."

Rose had been gazing off from the screen as she spoke, but with her final words she turned back, and the anguish in her eyes was evident. "I'm sorry," she said, her lip slightly trembling. Then she seemed to gather her resolve as she spoke firmly, seemingly staring directly at him with a penetrating gaze. "But you know that I've made _my_ choice." She then looked away once more, staring down at her hands folded in her lap as she spoke quietly. "And if you love me, then you'll just let me go. Don't try to come after me, and don't try to see me. My family will understand," she added. "They know my life has never been tied to this Earth." Rose looked back up at the screen one last time. "Goodbye," she whispered.

The message ended.

The Doctor couldn't even breathe.

Over the next several minutes, he replayed the message again and again trying desperately to make sense of it. Surely this couldn't be true. This wasn't even conceivable. He knew Rose had been angry with him and was feeling hurt, but a fallout of this magnitude just couldn't be possible.

There was so much the Doctor could say he had been uncertain about. This whole new life he now had was unlike anything he had ever experienced and sometimes left him feeling like he was groping in the dark. Yet one thing was and had always been true: If he believed in one thing, just one thing, he believed in _her_. He believed in her love more than anything else in the universe. Rose would never leave him — not like this.

The Doctor promptly decided he needed to see Jackie and Pete. Not only did he know that she would never leave him like this, he also knew Rose would never leave her family without at least telling them goodbye. He had to let them know what had happened, and maybe they could shed some sort of light on this.

-:-:-:-

The Doctor didn't even bother with the formalities of landing outside and knocking on the door. There was no time to waste, so he just materialized right in the main living room.

Tony ran up to him excitedly as soon as he stepped out of the TARDIS, eager to see the famous ship Rose had told him such stories about, and asking if the Doctor would take him on a trip. He then began enthusiastically rattling off a list of things he wanted to see at a speed that could top even the Doctor. Tony finally settled on Barcelona, bouncing up and down excitedly and asking if he could see the dogs with no noses — a particular favorite among the stories Rose had told him. The Doctor had to hide his present concern from the child, and put on a false smile as he knelt down in front of him.

"Tell you what, Tony Tyler, one day, if your mum lets me, I'll take you anywhere you'd like to go. How does that sound?" The boy's eyes lit up at the promise of that as he nodded emphatically. The Doctor picked him up and stood as Jackie was approaching. "But right now there's something important I need to talk to your mum and dad about," he continued, as he handed Tony over to her.

Jackie could tell by the Doctor's demeanor that something was wrong, and she didn't even protest his landing in the middle of the room or his promise to Tony of traveling in the TARDIS.

"Sweetheart, why don't you go upstairs and play for a few minutes while your daddy and I talk to the Doctor. Can you do that for me?"

Tony was reluctant to leave, but finally agreed in a small, disappointed voice, with sad eyes that reminded the Doctor painfully of Rose.

Jackie set him down and ran her fingers through his blonde hair then gave him a pat on the cheek. "That's my boy. Now off you go."

Pete had just come out of his study upon hearing the arrival of the TARDIS and walked towards them both. "Doctor," he greeted as he put an arm around his wife, "what brings you here?"

"And where's Rose?" Jackie added.

The Doctor's eyes were dark as he responded. "She's gone."

"What'd you mean 'gone'?" Jackie asked, quickly growing more concerned.

"She left with Joron, but I don't think she would have done so willingly. Do you know anything about this?" he queried, desperate for any answers.

"I knew Joron was leaving, but certainly not with Rose. He made no mention of that," Pete replied.

"Rose would never just leave with him," Jackie added. "She never felt for him the way he did towards her, she told me so. And I know she would never leave you. Not now that she finally has you back."

Rose's words kept replaying in the Doctor's mind: _she had made her choice_. Though some of her words had faltered, she sounded so resolute when she said that. It was then that it struck him, and he finally had no doubt that Rose had not done this of her own free will. Of course she had made her choice! That was her message to him. She was trying to tell him _what_ that choice was – the choice she had made a long time ago when she said she would never leave him. How could he have doubted that even for a moment?

The Doctor ran an anxious hand through his hair. "She left a message for me saying she had decided to leave with him and for me to just let her go, but I don't think there is any possible way she would have done that willingly."

"Do you think he's hurt her?" Jackie quickly asked, growing even more concerned.

"He wants her, so I don't think he would. At least not yet," he added darkly as the Oncoming Storm boiled up inside him at the thought of what Joron's intentions for Rose might be. "And he is _not_ going to get a chance to either because I _am_ going to get her back. I'm leaving now."

"Doctor," Pete interjected, "you have no idea what could be waiting for you if you set foot on Zendor on your own. Take some people with you. A team from Torchwood — the whole bloody organization if you have to, but…"

"No," the Doctor cut in, "The Zendorians are born warriors. If anything, Joron would be more prepared for an all-out battle, leaving Rose caught in the middle. I'll do this on my own," he insisted. "I _will_ bring her back," he vowed as he locked eyes with Jackie.

The Doctor then turned and walked purposefully back into the TARDIS. If Joron thought he could just take Rose and there would be no consequences then he had made a fatal mistake. The Doctor was coming for her, and there was no power in the universe that could stop him. He had experienced death itself in order to finally get back to Rose, and he was not going to allow anything or anyone to take her from him now.


	17. Chapter 17

**Many of you have expressed your "dislike" for Joron, and might I say, I completely agree! **

* * *

Rose spent the short yet distressing duration of the trip to Zendor contained within a holding shield on Joron's small ship which kept her confined to one seat. Upon landing, he lowered the shield but bound her hands together before leading her off the ship.

Once outside, Rose squinted as her eyes adjusted to the light. They were in what appeared to be an isolated area beneath a towering rock face a few meters to their right. A strong wind whistled through the air and whipped against her as harsh fragments of dry soil blew in her face. Rose gazed out at the desolate expanse of land before her. It was a rocky, barren planet. She could see the crumbled remains of buildings off in the far distance — remnants of the destruction caused by years of fighting and bloodshed. The bleak, despondent landscape mirrored what Rose was feeling inside.

Three men and two women approached them and greeted Joron in a formal manner that showed they viewed him as a superior. Their appearance was undeniably that of soldiers, each armed with a weapon at their side. She couldn't understand what was being said due to not having the TARDIS there to translate. Rose was eyed suspiciously by the others, but as Joron continued with whatever it was he was saying, their view of her seemed to shift, and it became clear she was seen as Joron's plunder — a mere possession.

The others began unloading the weapons from the ship as Joron gripped Rose's arm firmly and walked her a few meters towards what appeared to be a cave. Rose could see a small opening as they drew nearer and entered through a gap in the jagged face of the rock.

Once inside, they roved through winding passageways until they reached a large cavern. The cave's primitive exterior was contrasted by the technology within. Rose swept her gaze around the interior and noted the cavern's appearance was comparable to that of an advanced communications and monitoring center, with various weapons and artillery stockpiled throughout.

The others followed them inside, and Joron indicated for one of the women to come over to them.

"This is Lezrah," Joron said, turning to Rose.

She was a tall woman with straight dark hair and a rather muscular build. Robust features were apparently a common trait of Zendorians, Rose concluded.

"Well, ordinarily I might say it was nice to meet you, Lezrah, but under the circumstances I can't say that it is," Rose replied bitterly.

The woman sneered. "I don't know what you see in this puny specimen, Joron. But I suppose she may provide you with some amusement."

"So you also speak English?" Rose knew Joron spoke the language, but hadn't expected to hear it from the others.

"I know a great many languages, yours being one of the more inferior ones," she replied in a condescending tone.

"Lezrah, secure her in one of the chambers," Joron said, then turned back to Rose. "I will rejoin you shortly."

Rose fixed him with a dark, intense glare. "Do you realize how much I despise you?" she said, her voice tight and low with barely contained rage.

He held her gaze as a slow, wicked smile came to his face. "That will only intensify the passion between us."

Lezrah then tugged her away and led her deeper into the cave. They stopped outside a heavy, bolted door which led into another room. Flaming torches on the walls were the only source of light — an anachronistic contrast to the advanced appearance of the main cavern. The room was bare, with the exception of a bed against the far wall. Lezrah led her over to the far side where a large, barbaric chain was fastened to the rock wall. She removed the restraints on Rose's hands only to forcefully jerk her arm forward and shackle her wrist to the chain.

"Joron must obviously have a hard time holding on to women," Rose said sardonically. "Isn't this a bit of overkill considering there's a _bolt_ on the door?"

Lezrah smiled darkly. "Joron has a preference for bondage," she replied, then turned to leave.

"Charming," Rose muttered as she tugged in vain at the restraint and gazed around at the dungeon-like room where she was now imprisoned. "As the Doctor would say, many things about this are not good."

Rose kept replaying the words she had been forced to say to the Doctor. It killed her inside to say those things, but she knew deep down that the Doctor wouldn't just accept those words. Their love was too strong. She also believed he would understand the deeper message she tried to convey to him. But still, the fact that it came on the heels of their argument where she walked away from him meant the timing of this couldn't possibly have been any worse.

Yet Rose had no doubt the Doctor would come for her. It was just a matter of when. But she was afraid of the battle that could ensue and the danger he might put himself in. The Doctor may still have an extended lifespan, but he could no longer regenerate. Rose just desperately hoped he remember that and didn't go getting himself killed for her sake. She also feared that even if he did manage to find her, it might come too late for what Joron was undoubtedly planning.

Rose leaned back against the wall and slid down, sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest. She pressed her hand to her forehead and squeezed her eye shut as dark thoughts assaulted her mind. Would the Doctor even want her after Joron had his way with her? Could she even bring herself to be with the Doctor after that? She would feel tainted, and nothing between them would ever again be the same.

Rose had to fight to hold back tears. She couldn't even believe this was actually happening. When would it ever end? Hadn't the two of them been through enough already?

-:-:-:-

After a short lapse of time, the heavy door shifted open and Joron came into the room. Rose pulled herself up and stood as he came closer. She barley even recognized him. Rose wondered if she had ever really known this man at all. He was dressed in a black uniform similar in appearance to what the others wore, but with Zendorian insignia that somehow made it more imposing. He was armed with a gun-type weapon strapped to one side and a sword sheathed at the other.

"Who are you?" Rose said in repulsion at the warrior before her. "I thought I had seen the potential for something good in you. What happened to the man who took me on trips just for the joy of it? I thought we had a genuine friendship."

He stepped closer, the thump of his heavy boots echoing off the walls of the cave. "I showed you what you wanted to see, Rose; and perhaps we can have that again someday. Now, however, it's time you learn my true nature."

"Oh, I think I've now learned your true nature all too well," she replied in disdain as she held up her shackled arm.

His eyes flicked down to the chain around her wrist. "The restraint will not be necessary once you have come to accept me."

Rose scoffed. "Well then I guess I'll have to get used to being chained, because that day will _never_ come."

"You will change your mind once you see all I have to offer you. I will soon take my rightful place as Ruler, following in my grandfather's legacy, and you will benefit from my power."

She laughed scornfully. "You honestly believe you can take over this entire planet? You are completely out of your depth, not to mention delusional. Look at you — you're reduced to hiding in a cave. And I've seen…what, half a dozen people you have on your side? I don't care how many weapons you may have, you don't have the means to overthrow the government."

"Oh, you'd be surprised," he said in a self-assured tone. "Never underestimate the might of just a few Zendorian warriors. The beauty of it is I don't even need the weapons I have amassed in order to kill Shor-el, the current Ruler. I have my own people positioned within his government who have feigned allegiance with him. They will secure my access to the Ruling Citadel where I will kill him myself. Once that is accomplished, we will take up arms against Shor-el's officers. Even though there are few of us, his officers will not stand a chance against the weapons I have created."

He then withdrew the sword at his side and slowly ran his hand down the length of the blade, the flickering light of the torches glinting off its steely surface. "This belonged to my forefathers and has been handed down to me. It will begin with _this_. With it I will strike down Zendor's weak leader and take my rightful place. Then I will once again restore the might of this planet."

"Your family would be so proud," she mockingly replied.

"Yes, they would." He replaced the sword in its sheath and stepped closer to her. "This will soon be done. And once I have established myself at the Citadel, I will have you brought to me and you and I will be joined."

Rose glared intently into his eyes. "The only 'joining' we're going to do is my fist to your face," she seethed.

His gaze was hard and cold as he grasped her chin and brought his face closer to hers. The thought of him forcing himself on her again made her sick to her stomach. Rose didn't care if she was chained or not — he wasn't getting a single thing from her without a fight. Summoning every bit of her strength, she rapidly swung with her free hand to strike him, but he grabbed it and twisted her arm painfully behind her back.

"Your fire will make things much more pleasurable later on," he whispered sinisterly in her ear as she struggled against his grip. He chuckled darkly as he released her with a jerk and turned to leave the room, the door bolted on the outside behind him.


	18. Chapter 18

The Doctor thought briefly of the best way to go about arriving on Zendor. From what he knew of the planet, at least in the other universe, they did not take kindly to outside visitors. But if what Rose had said about the planet now having a new leader who had ushered in a time of peace was true, then he hoped his arrival on the planet would be a bit more favorably received. Only one way to find out. He decided to land directly inside the gates of the Ruling Citadel.

Joron had been a high-ranking military officer, and those in the government would most likely be able to give him some idea of where he might possibly be found. He hoped they would also see that it was in their best interest to assist him in finding Joron; because if his recent actions were any indication, he most certainly was not a man of peace, and more than likely posed a threat to the new government.

-:-:-:-

Standing in the heart of Zendor's capital city, the fortified Citadel was a massive and imposing structure, looming over all other buildings nearby, its ancient stone walls reaching several stories high and spanning many acres.

Upon arrival, the Doctor was not surprised to find the TARDIS surrounded by officers ready to seize him as soon as he stepped out. Fortunately for him, however, the psychic paper gave him his usual way out of a tricky situation and gained him an escort into the building.

He was ushered into the depths of the fortress, finally reaching the inner chamber where the officers escorting the Doctor had him wait while they stepped forward to speak with Zendor's new leader, Shor-el, and explain the Doctor's presence. The Ruler then came forward and addressed the Doctor.

"I understand you are a representative from the Northern region sent on special assignment to warn me of a threat."

The Doctor glanced back down at the psychic paper. "So I am."

"And you would be?"

"I'm the Doctor."

Shor-el regarded him quizzically, but seemed to accept this reply considering there were more pressing matters at hand. "So then, Doctor, what is the nature of this threat?"

"Do you know of a man by the name of Joron? He was a military commander within—"

"Joron was one of my fiercest enemies," he hastily replied, anger suddenly evident in his tone. "But he was a coward. He fled the fighting when it became clear his defeat was imminent."

"He has returned," the Doctor informed him. "And I also have personal reasons for needing to find him," he continued. "Before returning to this planet, he took a woman with him. I intend to get her back."

"Does this woman belong to you?" Shor-el asked.

The Doctor paused and gave a half smile. "I belong to _her_," he corrected. "And she belongs _with_ me."

Shor-el thoughtfully considered the Doctor's words, then summoned for someone to join them.

"Very well, Doctor. You will have our assistance in finding Joron. I intend to maintain the peace that has finally been established and will not risk Joron taking actions against that." He turned to the woman he had summoned who now stood beside him. "This is Lezrah, one of my trusted officers. She had served for me as an informant within Joron's unit. She will be able to assist you in locating areas of his previously known whereabouts."

"Thank you," the Doctor replied with grateful relief.

He followed Lezrah out into the corridor and descended a set of stairs, finally leading into another large room which appeared to serve as a command center where other officers were already beginning to gather. She addressed them and divided them into units, assigning various locations where they were supposedly to search for Joron.

Lezrah was inwardly pleased with this turn of events. With a large number of Shor-el's officers out of the Citadel, it would make this plot all the more simple. As for the Doctor, she knew exactly where to take him. If it was Rose he wanted, so be it.

After the others had been assigned their orders, she turned to the Doctor. "I know of one more area Joron had once used as a base. I have kept it closely monitored for signs of those loyal to him returning, but it has remained empty," Lezrah said, as she and the Doctor began making their way back out. "However, we can make another inspection of that area today just to be certain."

The Doctor agreed. Lezrah said she could transport them both to the location, but the Doctor insisted on taking the TARDIS. Once he found Rose, he planned to get her off this planet just as quickly as possible. Lezrah agreed and gave him the coordinates, saying she would meet him there.

-:-:-:-

The Doctor arrived at the desolate location outside the cave, unaware that he was walking right into a trap. Lezrah approached, and then led him into the main cavern, now unoccupied since the others had already left to carry out the plan of assassinating Zendor's leader. Once inside, the Doctor instantly noted that this was obviously not an unused site. He pulled out the sonic to scan and immediately picked up a reading.

"I'm picking up a human life sign," he said quickly. He didn't even wait for Lezrah as he took off like a shot in the direction he was following from the sonic. He ran through the winding passageways until he came to the outside of the bolted door. Lezrah was just catching up to him as he slid the bolt and swung the door open.

The Doctor froze for half a second as his eyes fell upon Rose on the far side. She immediately stood up, overwhelming relief crashing through her. She rushed forward as close to him as the chain would allow as he swiftly closed the distance between them in a few quick strides and swept her into his arms.

"Oh, Rose," he cried in relief as he buried his face in her hair. She was alive and appeared to be unharmed, and he didn't think he had ever been happier than he was in this moment.

Rose held him tightly, never wanting to let go. "Doctor! Oh, I knew you'd come," she murmured as she pressed her face into the side of his neck, breathing in his scent and assuring herself that he was _really_ here.

Their joyous reunion was cut short as Rose spotted Lezrah over the Doctor's shoulder. She instantly went stiff in his arms.

The Doctor felt Rose suddenly tense and he eased her down. He turned to see the reason for the look of dread on her face. Lezrah stood by the door holding a weapon on them.

"Thank you for being so cooperative, Doctor. It made things much more simple. I must rejoin the others now as it is time to execute the plan — as well as Shor-el. Joron will deal with you," she indicated to the Doctor, "once he returns. I think he would want the pleasure of killing you himself."

The Door was slammed shut and once again bolted from the outside. The Doctor rushed forward and tried in vain to open it with the sonic.

"Deadlocked," he said in frustration.

His attention was then shifted back to Rose. "But I _can_ at least unlock this," he said as he crossed back over to her and used the sonic to quickly remove the shackle.

A dark shadow crossed his face as he took her hand in his and gently swept his thumb over the reddened skin of her wrist. "Did he hurt you, Rose?" His voice faltered and he couldn't even look her in the eyes as he asked.

Rose brought her hand up and placed it on his cheek. "No," she assured him. "He didn't touch me. But he…he would have. He plans to…"

The Doctor took her face in his hands and looked intently into her eyes. "He is NOT going to," he said fiercely. "I won't let him. I swear."

Rose nodded and fisted her hands in his jacket as she pulled him to her. He wrapped her in his arms and held her tightly.

After a few moments they finally eased back. "Doctor," Rose began, "I didn't mean it — any of it. I…"

"Shhh, I know. It's okay," he soothed as he stroked her hair.

She shook her head, regret evident in her eyes. "But it's not okay. I don't just mean the things he made me say on the message." She dropped her gaze. "The things I said before, when we argued, I'm sorry," she said softly. "I know you didn't lie to me in the beginning and you were gonna tell me about what you had found out."

"But you were right, Rose. I shouldn't have kept it from you. I should have told you right away, and I'm sorry I didn't."

Rose clasped his hand in hers. "You said that knowing what you do about your lifespan hasn't changed your feelings for me. Well it hasn't changed mine, either," she affirmed. "I want to spend every moment of my life with you for as long as we can have."

Neither one was sure who made the move first, but in a matter of seconds, their lips came crashing together in an exquisite and blinding kiss that left them both panting heavily when they finally came up for air.

"Did we just make up?" the Doctor asked breathlessly, his forehead pressed to hers.

"I think so," she breathed, seconds before his lips descended on hers once more.

After several moments, they broke the kiss, and the Doctor moved to trail his lips across her jaw. Rose reached up to drag her fingers through his hair, and let her head fall back as he moved lower to place a line of kisses down the column of her neck, causing her to let out a soft moan.

Rose wondered how she had ever gone a single day without this man. All she wanted at this moment was to lose herself in him. Yet as much as it pained her, she knew this wasn't exactly the time _or_ place to let that happen. They needed to try and get out of here — preferably sooner rather than later. Once that was accomplished, then they could most _definitely_ continue on with their current activity.

Rose managed to regain her focus enough to speak. "Could we maybe do this somewhere a little less dingy and, you know," she gestured vaguely with her hand, "without the threat of impending death looming over our heads?" she murmured.

The Doctor's only reply was a deep sound in the back of his throat, and she wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a yes or a no. But he eventually pulled back from her and refocused on the situation at hand.

He cleared his throat as he ran a hand through his ruffled hair, which only succeeded in ruffling it further. "Right, first things first." He gazed around in inspection of the room. "It seems the only door is deadlocked, and there appears to be no other way out," he assessed.

"Right," she confirmed dismally.

He then spun back around and gave her a manic grin as he held up his finger. "But! We are in a cave!" he said, his enthusiastic voice echoing off the rock walls.

"Never slow on the uptake, you," Rose deadpanned as he began moving about the room at a frenzied pace, pressing his ear to various places along the walls.

"And do you know what you need when you carve a room out of a cave?" he asked, while continuing his manic inspection, then turned back towards her as he answered his own question. "Ventilation."

He then pulled out the sonic screwdriver and began scanning. A slow smile spread across his face. "Oh, hello!" A few adjustments to the sonic and he ran it once more over the top of the door. This time, a barred opening about three feet square was revealed.

"That was there all along?" Rose asked in disbelief at its sudden appearance.

"Perception filter," he explained.

"But can we get through the bars covering it?"

"Easy peasy." He aimed the sonic at the base of the first bar. "I'll have this cut through in a matter of minutes, then I'll lift you up there and you can squeeze through and open the door from the other side."

Rose began to pace back and forth nervously, hoping desperately this was going to work, as he continued cutting through the bars.

The Doctor had nearly finished the job at hand when he cast a glance at her over his shoulder.

"Rose?" he asked casually.

"Hmm," she replied distractedly as she chewed on her bottom lip and continued to pace.

"Marry me?"

Rose's pacing suddenly came to a dead-stop, and she was completely motionless as her eyes went wide in shock. "What?" she gasped.


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay, this chapter comes with a Tissue Warning! But there is a purpose behind this tragic turn of events, so bear with me.**

* * *

"_Rose?" he asked casually._

"_Hmm," she replied distractedly as she chewed on her bottom lip and continued to pace._

"_Marry me?"_

_Rose's pacing suddenly came to a dead-stop, and she was completely motionless as her eyes went wide in shock. "What?" she gasped._

The Doctor shrugged and repeated those two words which had put her into a momentary state of shock. "Marry me," he said simply.

"I...," she stammered, at a complete loss for words. The Doctor was always full of surprises, but this was the last thing she was expecting at this particular moment. Rose finally regained her ability to speak and narrowed her gaze as she regarded him questioningly. "Why?" she asked slowly.

"Do you really have to ask why?"

"No, I mean...is this just your way of trying to prove yourself to me? Trying to prove that this is permanent and you mean it when you say you'll never leave?"

The Doctor switched off the sonic and came over to stand in front of her. "This _is_ permanent. And I do mean it when I say I'm never leaving you again." He reached out and took both her hands in his. "But I'm not asking you to marry me just to try to prove something. I'm asking you because I love you and I want you to be my wife. No doubts, no hesitations. I've been given this second chance with you, and I want us to have everything we can together." His expression then hardened. "And I also want every male of every species we come across to know that you are clearly and unequivocally _taken_," he said firmly.

This might not be the romantic proposal most women dream of, but Rose realized for the two of them, strangely it just somehow seemed appropriate. Besides, considering the trouble they always manage to find themselves in, if the Doctor were to wait to ask this until a time when they _weren't_ in the midst of a hostile threat, then he might never get the chance.

The timing of his question may have been unexpected, but she knew without a moment's hesitation what her answer was.

Rose let out a watery laugh as tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. "Yes!" she breathed.

The Doctor's heartbeat quickened and his big brown eyes got that little bit rounder. "Yes you're taken, or yes you'll marry me?" he asked nervously, his tone a pitch higher than normal.

"Both," she responded as she grabbed him by the lapels and brought his lips to hers in a kiss that mirrored the one they shared on that cold Norwegian beach.

The Doctor was left looking adorably dazed when she finally pulled back from him. "I think," Rose began in a seductive voice as she trailed a finger down his chest, hooked it just under the waistband of his trousers and gave a tug, pulling him even closer, "that we should get out of here sooner rather than later so we can get married and get on with the _honeymoon_."

"Brilliant! Fantastic! Molto Bene!" he enthused breathlessly.

He couldn't stop himself from planting one last kiss on her tantalizing lips, then wasted no time ushering her to the door and lifting her through the now unobstructed opening. Rose jumped down to the other side and unlatched the bolt on the door. With his hand in hers, they cautiously wound their way back through the cave, which to their relief still remained empty.

Rose came to a sudden stop once they had reached the main cavern, perplexed by what she saw.

"The weapons are still here," she noted in bewilderment. "Why would they leave these behind?"

The Doctor stepped closer to the weapons and scanned the stockpile of artillery with the sonic. "Ah, of course," he said knowingly, then turned to Rose to explain. "These are situated within a transport field. Rather than storm into the Citadel with their weapons, I'd say their plan is to first slip in and kill Shor-el quietly. Once that's done and everyone is in place, they'll then transport the advanced weapons over to themselves. That's when the real battle will begin."

The Doctor quickly moved over to the transport system. "This is set on a timer — less than one hour from now. Which would be right at nightfall. Apparently Joron is planning to carry out his act under the cloak of darkness."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Rose said with disdain.

The Doctor then began working to disable the transporter. "I'd say this should significantly hinder their plan," he said with satisfaction as he shut-down the system.

With that done, he and Rose resumed their exit from the cave, but instead of finding the opening which led to the outside, they were met with what appeared to be solid rock.

"Tell me this is another perception filter," Rose said with slight worry edging her voice.

The Doctor, however, wasn't concerned. "You'd think Joron would have made this just a bit more difficult," the Doctor muttered in an unimpressed tone as he easily disabled the cloak and revealed the exit.

He then turned to Rose. "You go on ahead to the TARDIS and wait for me. I'll be there in just a few minutes," he said.

"Why?" Rose asked, perplexed.

He took a deep breath, then released it. "Rose, I can't just leave these weapons here. They're too dangerous. They have to be destroyed."

Rose's eyes got wider. "And destroying them will destroy this cave in the process — with you _inside_!"

The Doctor placed his hand on her shoulder. "Believe me, I don't plan to stick around and watch the fireworks. I should be able to give myself enough time to make it out before the detonation."

Rose got that defiant Tyler look on her face that said she was NOT backing down. "I am not leaving you," she said firmly. "We run _together_, yeah?"

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and he knew it was pointless to argue with her. "Well then I suppose it's a good thing running is one of our specialties." He then turned and quickly made his way back over to the weapons, with Rose following beside him.

He very carefully removed the external cover on one of the weapons. The Doctor passed the sonic screwdriver to Rose and instructed her on which setting to use and where to place it as he began crossing a few wires. "I should be able to delay this long enough to give us about forty-five seconds...," then he paused thoughtfully for a moment. "Give or take."

He grasped the final two wires between his fingers and looked up at Rose. "Are you ready?" he asked. She nodded. He twisted the wires together and quickly stood, grabbing her hand. "RUN!"

They ran at top speed back through the front opening and out of the cave. Once outside, they continued their swift pace as they dove for cover behind a large rock and covered their heads to shield themselves from falling debris. Mere seconds later, a massive explosion shook the ground as the booming rumble of the blast resounded through the canyon.

Once the falling bits of rock and dirt settled, they slowly rose up. The Doctor and Rose exchanged a triumphant hug. "You seem to have a thing for explosions," Rose said, grinning widely. "Reminds me of the first day we met."

He matched her broad grin with his own as they took each other's hand once more and continued their hurried pace back to the TARDIS. Rose stopped him with a hand on his arm as he opened the door.

"You know we can't just leave though, right?" she said. "Even without those weapons to finish the battle, Joron is still going to assassinate Shor-el. We can't just stand by and let that happen."

The Doctor paused. A part of him wanted to bundle her into the TARDIS and get her away from this wretched planet as quickly as possible now that he had her back. But he knew she was right, of course. Rose would never stand by and let something like this happen if there was a chance something could be done to stop it. That was one of the many reasons he loved her. Neither of them could turn their backs on this. It just wasn't who they were.

He smiled proudly at her. "Rose Tyler, I believe we have an evil plot to thwart and a planet to save. Would you care to accompany me?"

"It's what we do best!" she grinned.

"Oh, I dunno," he replied casually as they stepped into the TARDIS. "I think we may find one or two other things we're quite good at as well," he said suggestively as he threw her a wink over his shoulder.

-:-:-:-

The Doctor landed back within the gates of the Citadel where they hastily disembarked. He quickly summoned as many officers as he could find to gather around them.

"Listen to me," he said urgently, knowing he had the trust of Shor-el so his words would carry weight. "There is a plan to assassinate your Ruler, and we have reason to believe the man who plans to carry that out, Joron, is already here. Some of those who are also a part of this plot have infiltrated your ranks, Lezrah being one of them. We have to find Shor-el as quickly as possible and get him to safety."

As the Doctor was speaking, as if on cue, Rose spotted Lezrah approaching from a distance with two of Shor-el's officers who she recognized as also being ones working with Joron. She quietly began informing the others, but while doing so, Lezrah and the other two quickly realized what was happening. Even though the time had not yet come for the transport of Joron's weapons, they were not willing to let anything stand in the way of their plans now that they were this close. They pulled their guns and began to open fire. The other officers took up positions and fired back while the Doctor and Rose ducked for cover behind a stone pillar.

Numerous shots were exchanged, but the three were outnumbered and soon overtaken, one of them being killed. The Doctor and Rose approached as Lezrah, now wounded in the arm, was apprehended.

"Looks like it's your turn to be imprisoned," Rose said with satisfaction.

"Where is Joron?" the Doctor asked firmly.

She smiled darkly. "Secure in a location where he will not be discovered while he awaits the moment of Shor-el's execution."

She was then led away as the rest of the officers began to quickly move into action. But their numbers were few since Lezrah had been able to dispatch many units earlier in a supposed search for Joron.

The Doctor stopped one who was hurriedly passing by. "Do you know where Shor-el is now?"

"Somewhere within his private inner chamber, but that section alone covers a very large central area."

Rose cast her eyes up at the massive structure. "This place is enormous. It could take days just to cover the entire building." She looked back at the Doctor. "We're gonna have to split up."

"Rose...," the Doctor began to object.

"Look, we don't have time to argue about this. A man's life is at stake" she said firmly, but it was clear the Doctor was still not ready to agree. "If Joron is deep within the Citadel, then he most likely doesn't know what has just taken place outside. He's still going to try to go through with this." Rose glanced up at the quickly darkening sky as she continued. "We still have just a little bit of time before nightfall, yeah? So Joron should still be in hiding somewhere waiting for the planned time, which means we still have a chance of getting to Shor-el before he does. If we split up we can double that chance.

The Doctor took a deep breath. "Alright," he finally relented. He then took her face in his hands and touched his forehead to hers as he closed his eyes. He showed her an image of Shor-el in his mind. "That's who we're looking for," he said to a dazed-looking Rose once he'd pulled back.

Rose nodded. "I think your little mind tricks are gonna come in handy for 'other' things later on," she said cheekily.

They both grinned, then hurried into the Citadel.

"But be careful!" The Doctor called as they ran to opposite entranceways of the building.

That last smile she gave him before disappearing inside was an image that would soon haunt him.

-:-:-:-

Rose hurried through the maze of massive, stone-walled corridors as she made her way towards the center of the Citadel. Her journey seemed to stretch on for miles as she continued deeper into the heart of the compound.

Rose paused as she thought she heard the echo of footsteps somewhere in the distance. She waited a moment but heard nothing but eerie silence. She continued along cautiously.

She eventually came to a descending set of stairs leading out into an inner courtyard. The area was quickly falling under a blanket of darkness, and as Rose stood at the top of the stairs peering out, she saw movement across the courtyard. In the dim light she could make out the figure of a man. It was Joron.

She quickly ducked back and pressed up against the wall, fairly certain he had not seen her. He was alone. He had not yet reached Shor-el. She quickly began calculating the best course of action. She realized back-up was needed. Now that she had a location on Joron, she could inform the others. Rose slipped away from the stairs and doubled back down one of the corridors, trying to remember the path she had taken.

Just as Rose rounded another corner, she was suddenly seized from behind with a hand over her mouth. She was then thrust up against the wall and stood face-to-face with Joron, his sword held at her throat. He _had_ seen her, and had taken a different passageway to intercept her.

"Rose! What are you doing here?" he demanded, his eyes blazing.

Rose was unflinching as she held his gaze. "What do you think I'm doing here? I'm here to help warn Shor-el and to stop you," she answered fearlessly. Rose knew before coming here she was running the risk of encountering Joron, but she had not been willing to let that fear stop her from trying to save a life. "If you think I'm just going to stand by and let you kill a good man and plunge this world into centuries more of bloodshed, then you better think again. It's over, Joron."

He took a small step back as he loosened his grip on her shoulder and lowered the sword from her throat. "No. It is just beginning. Once I have done this, all of Zendor will be mine. And so will _you_."

Rose shook her head defiantly. "Your plan has already failed. And right now your people are in the process of being gathered up," she informed him. "Because there is one thing you didn't take into account with this plan of yours: The Doctor. You should have listened when he told you he was impressive."

"She's right, you should have." Joron's eyes snapped up to see the Doctor standing at the opposite end of the corridor.

"Put it down, Joron, and step away," the Doctor said evenly, trying to appear calm despite the sudden fear he felt of seeing Rose trapped between the wall and Joron's sword. "Many of your people have already been seized, including Lezrah. Shor-el has been warned of your plot, and I have disabled your transporters and destroyed the weapons. This. Is. Over."

Rage suddenly flared in Joron's eyes. "This is _NOT_ over! I WILL HAVE ZENDOR!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Zendor will never be yours, and neither will I," said Rose firmly. Joron turned his gaze back on her and tightened his grip on the sword.

Just then, Shor-el appeared behind the Doctor and came to stand beside him, accompanied by two of his guards.

"Release your weapon and let this woman go," the Ruler commanded.

Joron was breathing heavily, a look of bloodthirst in his eyes. With his plans now crumbling around him, he had just become a desperate man. And a desperate man holding a weapon was never a good combination.

Yet in that moment, a look of deathly calm seemed to come over him as he reached a decision. After several highly tense seconds had passed, he began replacing his sword in its sheath. The Doctor and Rose both released the breath they had been holding.

"I _will_ be victorious," he said darkly, his voice edged with fury as he slowly locked the sword back in place. "You think you have destroyed me, Doctor, but I will destroy you as well." He then fixed his eyes back on Rose. "Because I will still have _you_. And if I cannot have you in life, then you will be mine in death!"

Before Rose even had a second to react, Joron unholstered his other weapon with lightning-fast speed and aimed it directly at her.

A single shot rang out, and for a moment, no one breathed. Joron then slowly lowered the weapon and fell to the ground. One of Shor-el's officers had fired at Joron a split second before he had pulled the trigger on Rose.

Rose looked down where Joron lay, then back up at the Doctor, a mixture of shock and relief washing over both their faces. This nightmare was finally over.

She took one step towards the Doctor, but it was the only step she would take. With everyone unaware that Joron was still clinging to life, he used his final breath to aim the weapon he still clutched in his hand at Rose, then fired.

"Mine in death," he whispered in heinous victory.

The shot reverberated through the vast halls of the Citadel, followed seconds later by several more shots as Shor-el's guards opened fire on him. But it was too late to stop what had been done.

"ROSE!" the Doctor screamed in horror.

It was as if time moved in slow-motion at that moment, and the Doctor felt as if he couldn't move quickly enough as he ran to her side. Rose fell to her knees with a guttural gasp, clutching the wound in the center of her body, blood rapidly seeping out beneath her fingers.

The Doctor dropped down beside her and took her in his arms as he eased her down, then began applying pressure to the wound in a vain attempt to stop the rush of blood.

"I...I'm sorry," she gasped.

"Shhh, it's okay. You're going to be fine, Rose!" the Doctor said frantically. "I'll get you into the TARDIS and you'll be fine!"

She shook her head. "Even the T—TARDIS can't…raise the dead." Tears sprang to her eyes as she struggled to speak. "I think we were always...heading for this," she rasped. "The Beast in the pit...it said I was gonna...die in battle."

"It lied!" the Doctor cried in desperation, his eyes filled with anguish. "And you are not going to die! I'm getting you out of here…"

He went to lift her, but she stilled him with a hand on his chest. "No," she let out in a whisper. "We're t-too far away. It will take too long to get to the TARDIS, and you and I both know I..." she took another gasp of air, "...I won't make it. I don't want to die in your arms on the way."

Shor-el and the others stood back. It was clear her wound was fatal, and everyone kept their distance to give her and the Doctor these precious few minutes together.

The Doctor could not hold back the tears that were now streaming down his face. "Rose," his voice trembled, "I won't let you die."

"You were always gonna lose me one day," she whispered faintly, trying in some way to help him come to terms with this. "It's just sooner than we were expecting. Everything...has it's time," she rasped, "and...everything ends."

She managed a faint smile as she placed a hand on his cheek and somehow found the strength to continue. If these were her final moments, there was one last thing she wanted, and she would fight to hold on long enough to let that happen. "Marry me?" she breathed. "I want to be y-your wife," she fought through the pain as she struggled to keep speaking, "even if it's just...for a moment."

The Doctor didn't think he could even bring himself to speak. His world was ending in this moment. His mind couldn't even comprehend that this was happening. How many people would have to die in his arms? _Why was he never able to save them_, he screamed internally in anguish. His planet, his people, Jenny, Donna — now Rose brutally torn from him. Why did he always lose everyone who ever mattered to him?

Yet with as steady a voice as he could manage and his eyes never once leaving hers, he began to speak his vows to her, knowing this had to be done now if it was ever going to be done at all. He finished with his pledge to love her "For all of Time."

Rose smiled weakly and somehow managed to gather her final strength to return those vows to him as she finished and whispered, "Until death do us part."

Shor-el came closer and placed his hand over the Doctor and Rose's. "I declare these two joined," he proclaimed solemnly.

The Doctor leaned closer and kissed her one final time as images of their life together played out before him, the dreams of their future now shattered. He once said that when the Time Lords died the universe became that bit less kind. Today he realized the universe was merciless.

With his entire body trembling, the Doctor leaned forward and gave Rose a final piece of himself as he whispered his name in her ear. A name he had not uttered in centuries, and would never speak again.

This was not at all the way he intended it to be, but if he was going to do this, it was his final chance. He then placed his hand on her temple, closed his eyes and joined his mind with hers as he initiated a bond between them. Rose was quickly fading, but an awareness of becoming one with the Doctor filled her entire being. For just this moment, everything else faded away, and there was only the two of them in all of existence.

Joining himself to Rose in this way meant her death would destroy him and rip his soul in two, in a way no other person could even comprehend. But he did this for her. He knew her death would be the end of him, but this way she could take this part of himself with her.

"Rose, I _love_ you," he choked out on a whisper.

"I love you," she returned with the last of her strength.

Her eyes then filled with a look of awe. "Can you hear it?" Rose whispered faintly, "The song. It's the song of the universe."

He could hear it. It was the same haunting melody he had never wanted to hear again.

The song that sang him to sleep.

Rose reached up to touch his cheek. "My love will always be with you," she breathed. Her eyes then slipped shut as her hand fell limply from his face.

"Rose," he whispered, unable to accept the reality that she was gone.

"Rose," he called out again in desperation as he looked into her unresponsive face.

"ROSE!" He screamed her name to the heavens as he gathered her to him and rocked her lifeless body in his arms.

He felt as if his heart stopped beating the moment hers did and all life drained from him.

The minutes passed by. Finally, Shor-el placed his hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "She's gone," he spoke quietly. "You must let her go."

When the Doctor slowly lifted his eyes, they were lifeless and hollow. He felt nothing but emptiness and death inside.

"Allow us to bury her. We will give her a ceremony and a place of honor as a memorial for her sacrifice."

The Doctor stood, lifting Rose's body with him in his arms. "No," his tone was flat, void of life. "I have to take her home. Back to the TARDIS...it's...it's where she belongs."

As he took a step to leave, Shor-el called out to him to offer his final condolences.

"Doctor..."

The Doctor turned back, his eyes dark and his face a mere shadow of the man he once was. "Don't call me that," he said, his voice low.

As he held in his arms the dead body of the woman he loved, being known as The Man Who Made People Better was a title which now served only to mock him.

"That man no longer exists," he said darkly. "He died today."


	20. Chapter 20

**There is a snippet of a translation included here of the ending of Murray Gold's "Vale Decem," or "Farewell Ten," the song of the universe that accompanied Ten's final moments. I think the ending lyrics, "Never Alone", fit perfectly with this, as do the words from the end of "Forest of the Dead."**

** I'm sure everyone knew where this was leading – it's predictable, I know. And the idea is certainly not unique to fanfics. But I'm of the opinion that when two people are The Stuff of Legend, they should have more than just one brief lifetime together. ;) And considering the Doctor's extended lifespan in this story, it just wouldn't do for him to have to live on alone.**

* * *

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

_Everybody knows that everybody dies, and nobody knows it like the Doctor._

_But not every day. _

_Not today._

_Some days are special. Some days are so, so blessed. _

_Some days, nobody dies at all._

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

As the Doctor carried Rose's body on the final journey back to the TARDIS, it was as if his feet moved him of their own accord, while his mind seemed almost detached from his physical form. In his state of brokenness and grief, he didn't even take notice of the officers he passed along the way who stood at attention in honor of the woman who gave her life in an attempt to save their Ruler.

Once he reached the TARDIS, he methodically set them into the Vortex without relinquishing his hold on her, feeling the need to get Rose off this planet that had taken her from him.

On instinct, without knowing what else to do and not being able to even think beyond this moment, the Doctor carried Rose to her room and laid her gently on the bed. He sank to his knees beside her lifeless form as he reached a hand up to brush the golden strands of hair from her face. The Doctor then grasped her hands in his as he buried his face beside her on the bed and began to weep, violent sobs racking his body until he felt like he could no longer breathe.

Guilt and blame began to wash over him like a tidal wave. He had sworn to Rose he would protect her. He had promised Jackie he would keep her safe and always bring her back home. That promise was now shattered. If he had never met Rose, if he had never come into her world and taken her away from the life she had known, would she have died? One day, yes. But not _this_ day, and not like this.

He should have been the one to die instead, he thought. He should have died after sacrificing himself for Wilfred and never been brought back. He lifted his head and cried out in agony.

"Why?" he yelled bitterly to the universe as his anguished voice echoed through the ship. "Why did you bring me back? YOU SHOULD HAVE LET ME DIE!" he sobbed, as his head fell back to the bed.

He once felt like he had received the greatest possible reward in being given this second chance at a life with Rose. Now it felt like the greatest curse.

The song of the universe, the song that bid him farewell from one universe, yet at the same time told him he would not be alone as he was welcomed into the next, continued to echo through his mind. He wanted to shut it out, but he could not escape the haunting melody. It seemed to only intensify and grow louder. Then it suddenly reached a crescendo and began to shift, to change, to grow into something more as those final words rang out:

"_Never alone, never."_

He had not been able to understand how those words could be true in the lonely moments of his death, and they seemed even more of a contradiction now. Yet he was about to discover the truth of what those words had been conveying to him all along: He was _not_ alone.

With his head bowed in grief, he didn't see the faint, shallow breath Rose took, and then exhaled a wisp of golden energy. The Doctor's only awareness was that the song now seemed to reach an almost deafening level as the words _'Never Alone' _reverberated in his mind. As he began to open his eyes and raise his head, he saw the golden vapors swirling around Rose's face. In disbelief, he stretched a trembling hand towards her. As his fingers came in contact with her face, he was suddenly pulled into her mind.

_The energy swirled violently around him like a cyclone as a wolf appeared in its midst and let out a howl that resonated through to his very core. _

_Suddenly the words, "__**I bring life. I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself," **__emblazoned themselves across his mind. _

_He then watched as Rose's timeline arose from the center of the swirling energy and merged with his own. Their timelines then melded together and the two became one. He knew in that moment that throughout all of time and space their lifetime would match. Never would their lives be separated by an imbalance of time._

_He could see it all in this moment as the pieces fell into place. Bad Wolf arose from within the heart of the TARDIS — the very Vortex of Time itself. And it was the heart of the TARDIS that gathered the Doctor's regeneration energy and brought him back, giving him this new life. Time itself had woven their paths together and united them._ This_ is why he had been returned and given this life. From the beginning, this had always been their destiny._

The Doctor came back into his own mind with a sudden gasp, and opened his eyes to see that Rose was taking shallow breaths, but was _very_ much alive.

Trembling, he pulled her into his arms and wept tears of joy as she slowly opened her eyes; Rose, also, having an awareness of all that had just happened. They didn't even need words at this moment. There were no words in all the universe adequate to describe the emotions pouring through them.

As the tears of joy subsided, Rose lifted her hand to his face, stroking his cheek gently, then finally spoke, echoing the words she had declared to him before, but were never truer than in this moment. "I'm never gonna leave you," she whispered, both having to experience death before coming back to each other, but now would never again be separated.

The Doctor was too overcome with joy and wonder to even speak. He placed tender kisses on every part of her face — her cheeks, forehead, eyelids — before coming to rest on her lips and lingering there, both reveling in the exultation of being together and being _alive_.

-:-:-:-

After an eternity of just holding each other, neither one wanting to ever let go, the Doctor finally eased Rose back and insisted on checking her over thoroughly in the infirmary. He had already checked to see that her wound was quickly healing, but he needed to confirm to himself without a doubt that she was truly okay.

They were both still in a state of joy and disbelief as they made their way to the infirmary, his hand gripping hers tightly.

The scans revealed that Rose had indeed changed. Although, it didn't appear she was immortal — as Bad Wolf had done with Jack. It seemed she had been able to come back to life in this instance due to the changes in her being initiated for the first time. She might not be able to come back from death if she were to sustain a serious injury like this again, but her body did now appear to have superior healing capabilities, which meant in the future she would be more likely to survive such an injury in the first place. One thing was certain: her body's aging appeared to be significantly slowed, which gave her an expected longevity now very similar to the Doctor's. There was also evidence that what facilitated this change had been dormant within her for some time.

The Doctor remembered the words Rose had spoken on Satellite Five as she stood luminous with the entire Vortex of Time flowing through her. She said Bad Wolf was created in order to bring her back to him — just as she had returned to his Ninth self that day. And then again when Donna spoke those two words from Rose, and suddenly the message of _Bad_ _Wolf_ was everywhere he turned just before she found him again. And now today, the two of them once again united.

They weren't immortal — they wouldn't live forever. But throughout the remainder of the Doctor's long lifespan, he would no longer be alone.

The Doctor came back over to stand in front of Rose and took both her hands in his as she looked deeply into his eyes. "How long of a life does this mean we could have?" Rose asked, still trying to wrap her mind around the enormity of it all.

The Doctor traced gentle circles on the tops of her hands with his thumbs as he spoke. "No one knows for sure how long they're going to live," he said softly. "That's one of the mysteries of the universe. But it's possible we could have twice the length of a long human life. Perhaps a bit more."

"I don't think I even fully understand all of this," Rose confessed. "But somehow I know that this was meant to be."

The Doctor lifted one hand to gently trail it down the side of her face. "This was within you all along, ever since the TARDIS allowed you to absorb its very heart. It was just lying dormant until..." He trailed off, unable to speak of her death.

"Until the right time had come," she finished for him.

He swallowed past the lump in his throat and nodded, his eyes shining with unshed tears. He kissed her tenderly once more, then eased her back to make one last check and assure himself with his eyes of what the scans had told him — that her wound had fully healed. Rose let out a small gasp at what was revealed when he lifted her shirt. A faint scar with an almost iridescent golden hue had formed over the wound. The Doctor reached forward with his hand and traced a finger lightly down its length.

He lifted his eyes to hers. "I could remove this for you if you want," he said, his voice hushed.

Rose placed her hand over his. "No," she breathed. "It's a reminder. A reminder that we are now one, and forever will be." She then gave him a smile that lit up her eyes. "They keep on trying to split us up, but they never ever will."

This time, the Doctor was in complete agreement with those words. He gathered her in his arms and held her tightly to him. His centuries of loneliness and the curse of having to live on alone were no more.

After several moments, he finally eased his grip. As much as he wanted to keep Rose all to himself within the TARDIS, the realization came to him that her family would still be worrying, not yet knowing if she was alright. He took a deep breath. "I suppose we need to go back and tell Jackie and Pete that everything's okay — that you're safe."

Rose glanced down at the blood-stained clothes they both still wore. "I think we need to get cleaned up first," she said with a strangled laugh, imaging her mum's reaction if she saw her like this. Then she brought her eyes back to his. "But then after that, I just want to stay here with you for a little while — just the two of us. Is that okay?"

He smiled gently at her words, for he shared those exact feelings. "Oh, more than okay. Whenever you're ready to go back, I can have us arrive just a few minutes after I saw them last so they won't be waiting and worrying."

Rose leaned forward and pressed her forehead to his, their breath mingling as their lips almost touched. "Thank you," she whispered across his lips, then closed the minute space between them and kissed him softly.

Rose pulled back slowly and brought her hand to his cheek, her fingers still stained crimson from the grip of death that had tried to steal her from him. She took her hand away from his face and gazed at her fingers for a moment, almost transfixed. "This...this needs to be gone," she spoke slowly, her voice hushed. "All of it. I need to wash this away." He reached to cradle her hand in his as she lifted her eyes back to him. A part of her wanted to take him by the hand and lead him with her to the bath. She wanted all traces of death behind them. They could wash this from each other and be cleansed by life. Yet her body tainted with blood and the remnant of death wasn't how she wanted him to see her for the first time when she held nothing back from him. And Rose knew this was the night she would give herself to him fully.

The atmosphere at that moment suddenly changed. The air no longer seemed filled with just a somber mood. Something shifted and the space between them was now charged with electricity.

Rose took a breath. The Doctor was about to speak, but she spoke up first as she stood. "I think we could both do with a shower and a change of clothes, yeah?" she said with an edge of nervous excitement tingeing her voice. "Just give me a few minutes. I won't be long, I promise."

Rose didn't want him to think she was putting any distance between them, but she wanted just enough time alone to prepare herself for him. She wanted this to be absolutely _perfect_.

The Doctor was about to object, not wanting to let her out of his sight for even a moment. Yet realization quickly dawned on him, and the look in her eyes told him she would _not_ be away from him for long.

The Doctor simply nodded as she reached up to gently touch his face once more, then turned and headed for the door. But then she paused and turned back, a provocative smile slowly spreading across her lips as she locked eyes with his. "I'll see you soon," Rose promised.

He just stood there staring after her for a moment. "Oh, yes," he finally murmured as he made his way out of the room, anticipation coupled with desire now rising within him at the thought of what was soon to come.

-:-:-:-

Rose quickly went to her room on the TARDIS and showered, still having a hard time wrapping her mind around all that had happened. She now understood how the Doctor felt when he was given a second chance at life.

She dried her hair and brushed the silken strands smooth, the heady scent of jasmine lingering in the air, having chosen that particular scent of shampoo she knew the Doctor most enjoyed. She set the brush down and walked out of the bathroom back into her room. Rose came to a stop as her gaze fell upon the beautiful, white silk nightgown draped across the end of her bed.

"Thank you," she whispered to the TARDIS as she dropped the robe she was wearing from her shoulders and slipped the gown over her head. She walked over to the mirror and smoothed her hands down the silk as she took a deep breath. They had both waited _such_ a long time for this, and nothing was going to come between them now. Oh, how she wanted him — _needed_ him, desperately, longingly, _achingly_. Brimming with intense desire and having never felt more sensual than in this moment, Rose left to go join the Doctor, her _husband_, in his room.

_No_, she corrected herself, _their_ room.


	21. Chapter 21

**All I have to say about this chapter is FINALLY! For those who might not care to read detailed love scenes, I've edited this down so as not to be explicit.  
**

**This chapter might seem to bring the story to its natural conclusion, but I'm not quite done yet. There is still one more twist yet to come! ;)**

* * *

Upon reaching his room, the Doctor opted for a traditional shower this time rather than just using the sonic, feeling the need to physically wash away all traces of blood and death and put it completely behind them.

As he washed, his mind continued to stray to the thought of wishing he and Rose were sharing the shower together. He had come so close to losing Rose. He _did_ lose her. Their separation may have been brief, but he felt as if he grieved for an eternity. Now that she had returned to him, he didn't want to let her out of his sight.

But the Doctor was feeling more than just the need to keep her near him simply to assure himself she was alive and okay. It went beyond that. His desire for Rose had never been stronger. She was now his wife. He had bonded himself to her — although their bond was not fully complete. That would require total intimacy between them. And try as he might to rein in his thoughts and gain some control, he was finding it difficult to think of anything else. The Doctor's now intense human hormones, coupled with his strong Time Lord instincts to complete their bond were driving him towards the need to make her fully his, and finally _show_ Rose how much he loved her — no holding back.

Yet he wasn't sure if Rose was ready for that — at least right now after all that had just happened. But still, his pulse quickened when he thought of the look in her eyes when she had told him she would see him soon, and he knew exactly what he _hoped_ that meant. But he wasn't going to push her for it. To say Rose had been through a lot today was an understatement. He had already waited this long; and if she wasn't yet ready for this tonight, he would continue to give her as much time as she needed — even if waiting meant driving him to the brink of insanity. He was going to let Rose take the lead with this. And if she took it in the direction he was so desperately hoping for, well, he would willingly follow.

-:-:-:-

Rose left her room and made her way down the corridor, her heart beginning to quicken with each step as she neared the Doctor's room — the room that would now become theirs. It struck her that in their time and travels together in the past, she had never once been in the Doctor's bedroom. They had spent plenty of relaxed time together in the library, and the Doctor had even joined Rose in her room on several occasions where they would sometimes talk late into the night. But just as friends — only as friends. Although they _both_ knew even then that they were so much more. But the Doctor's bedroom was like an unspoken boundary. For some reason that was yet another one of those invisible lines they never crossed in their past relationship. It would have been treading into dangerous territory for a man who thought he could never have what he so desperately wanted, so he kept that bit of safe distance.

All this had obviously changed since being together again and finally declaring their love for each other. And Rose had no doubt the Doctor would have been more than willing to take her to his room and give her a 'personal' tour. But since having the TARDIS back, almost all of their time had been spent in the console room making repairs. Rose was very close to having him take her back to his room that night after their romantic date on the Moon, but that time it was the Doctor who held back, and he was right. They were waiting for the perfect moment. And that moment was now.

Rose came to a stop as she reached his door, which now stood open in unspoken invitation. No holding back. As her eyes scanned the room, she was half expecting to see it decorated in shades of brown and blue. A pinstriped duvet wouldn't have surprised her in the least. Yet that wasn't what she saw as she gazed about. In some ways, the room reminded her of the TARDIS' library, with its deep, rich wood resembling mahogany, and shelves of books that filled one wall. A large, overstuffed chair sat angled to the side, and Rose could picture the Doctor sitting there late into the night reading an ancient text. The room had an ambiance of antiquity about it, and the bed was draped in tones of deep red accented with gold. Recognition suddenly flashed in her mind. Rose had images of things she had seen when the Doctor opened his mind and soul to her when he initiated the bond between them. These were the colors of Gallifrey.

Despite its rather stately appearance, there was no question who the occupant of this room was, and a closer inspection revealed things scattered here and there that made this room feel undeniably like _him_. There was the pair of brainy specs resting on the book at the bedside table, a swirly-patterned tie draped casually across the back of the chair, and a pair of Converse trainers sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed.

Rose took this all in within a matter of seconds, but what captured her attention was not the room, but the man within the room.

The Doctor was just finishing getting dressed when she had come to the door. He was turned to the side and hadn't yet seen her. He stood barefoot as he buttoned up his shirt, still untucked from his brown pinstriped trousers, his hair gloriously mussed. Rose's breath hitched at the sight of him and her heart began beating that little bit faster. The words, _gorgeous _and_ mine _flashed in her mind. Rose would not ordinarily use the word 'beautiful' when describing a man, but the Doctor was just that — yet in a _very _masculine way. And never had he been more so than now. There was something about him that was so open, so unguarded in this moment. Rose was not seeing him as Fire and Ice and Rage or the Oncoming Storm or the man with the weight of the universe on his shoulders. In this moment she simply saw him as the man she loved. The man she was now bonded with — though not completely. Not yet...

With a surge of boldness and single-minded determination for only one thing — _him_, she entered the room. His fingers paused at the first button of his cuffs as his eyes lifted and his gaze fell upon Rose. She was, quite literally, breathtaking — standing luminous in the silken gown she wore, with thin, delicate straps, plunging neckline, and a fit that hugged her curves as it flowed down her length.

The Doctor swallowed heavily. "Hello," he said, his voice soft and low as his breathing began to quicken.

"Hello," she echoed, feeling equally exhilarated.

Rose moved to close the distance between them and he met her halfway as she went into his waiting arms, both reveling in the feel of being in each other's embrace. This was where they belonged.

Rose pressed her face in the side of his neck, breathing in his scent and letting his entire being envelop her. She raised her head and gazed deeply into his eyes. "Do you know what tonight is?" she asked softly as she slipped her hands from his shoulders down to rest on his chest. She then leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "Our wedding night."

Exhilaration, desire, and anticipation — all coiled into one surged through him at her words. The Doctor cupped her face with his hands, tracing her cheekbones with his thumbs as he leaned forward and gave her a long, slow, breathtaking kiss, then pulled back a fraction to rest his forehead against hers. "Are you sure you're ready, Rose?" he whispered, his voice soft and gentle and full of love. "This day has already been…eventful, and there's no hurry. And once we do this, our bond will be complete. It will be permanent. Are you sure you're ready for that?"

Rose locked eyes with his. "I've never been more sure of anything in all my life. And I don't want to wait another second. I feel like we've been waiting for this for years."

That was all the confirmation he needed as his lips descended upon hers. He swept his tongue along the seal of her lips, and she opened for him, drawing him inside. She sank against his chest with a sigh of pleasure as his strong arms encircled her. Rose had long since known the Doctor was talented in a great many things, and never was that more true than when it came to the way he took her in his arms and kissed her — like she was his entire universe; and she lost herself in him every time. He had a way of driving her right over the edge while making her body hum with pleasure. Their tongues slid and thrust and swirled in perfect, blissful rhythm until they were both dizzy and had to come up for oxygen.

Both now breathing heavily, Rose held his gaze and he took a shuddering breath as her hands splayed flat across his chest, then lightly dragged her nails down across his firm torso. When she brought her lips to his skin and began trailing kisses across his chest, and then dipped her head lower to continue her decent down his stomach, he let out a low, deep growl and moved his hands to tangle in her hair.

"Rose," he rasped, his voice gravelly and low, "I think it's my turn." He was already wound so tight at this moment that he felt like he might explode.

Rose looked up into his eyes and saw such hunger, such raw passion that if it had been anyone else it would have frightened her. Yet at the same time, he remained unmoving, waiting silently for her final consent. She could see it was taking all of his restraint to remain still, his body pulsing with such energy that it was slightly shaking.

Rose took both of his hands in hers and lifted them to her lips, turned them to kiss each palm, and placed them on her shoulders. With her almost imperceptible nod, he hooked his fingers in the straps of her gown and slowly slid one from her shoulder. He brought his mouth forward and kissed the soft exposed skin, then repeated the same motion with the next. With his hands still on the silken straps, he slowly inched them further down until the figure-hugging gown slid off her arms and gathered at her waist.

The Doctor released a deep breath, overwhelming desire coursing through him as his eyes roved over her. He swept his hands back up her arms, across her shoulders, then lower as he mapped areas never before explored by his touch. Rose released a soft gasp as shockwaves of pleasure rippled through her beneath his passionate caress. As he moved his head forward with agonizing slowness and followed the same path with his lips and tongue — teeth gently grazing her over-sensitized flesh, she thought she might erupt into flames. Burning, liquid desire pooled in her abdomen, and Rose tried to remember how to breathe.

His hands travelled down to the fabric of her gown gathered at her waist, then he gently slipped his long fingers beneath the silk and slowly began sliding it down her hips. Suddenly, Rose wished she had slipped something else on underneath, her heart now thudding rapidly in her chest and wanting to prolong this just a moment more. But she didn't have long to consider that thought as the gown cascaded down and pooled at her feet in a gentle rustle.

With his hands still resting on her hips, the Doctor took a step back as his eyes locked with hers, then slowly swept his gaze down her body.

"Oh, Rose," he breathed, his voice filled with adoration, "you are so beautiful."

Rose blushed furiously under his heated gaze to the point where she had to glance away from the intensity. It was as if he could see right through to her soul. She had never felt so exposed, yet at the same time so shielded and protected here in his presence. She was his and he was hers.

The Doctor hooked his finger under her chin and turned her head back towards him, her eyes meeting his and seeing nothing but overwhelming love. He leaned forward until his face was within millimeters of her own. "I love you," he spoke across her lips as his hot breath sent another jolt of pleasure straight through her.

Rose pulled back slightly as his parted lips followed after hers, drawn to her like the pull of the Moon against the ocean's tide; but she brought her fingers up over his mouth to still him. "Patience," she whispered. Rose moved her hands to rest on his chest and could feel his heart thumping wildly beneath her palm. He drew in a deep breath, and shuddered as her fingers grazed his stomach while they slowly traveled downward. The Doctor had to fight to hold on to his sanity. All the blood seemed to have left his head and rushed to other parts of his anatomy.

Having finally reached her destination, Rose paused briefly, divided between wanting to revel in this moment and take it exquisitely slow, yet feeling a growing sense of urgency to move this towards the completion they were both yearning for. One look into the Doctor's eyes said he was feeling the same growing desperation, and without prolonging it further, she deftly removed the last barrier between them. Apparently she wasn't the only one who didn't take time to put on anything else underneath. The words _gorgeous _and _mine _once again swept through her thoughts as her eyes drank in every glorious inch of the man before her. The man she could now call her husband.

The Doctor swiftly drew Rose against him as he claimed her mouth in a fiery kiss. They both moaned at the first contact of skin on skin as their bodies pressed firmly together. He skimmed one hand down to the small of her back to anchor her to him while the other went to tangle in her hair, marveling at the way she fit in his arms with nothing between them — like two pieces of a puzzle. Rose wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him more tightly against her, both their hearts continuing to pound rapidly in their chests, yet somehow in perfect sync with each other.

They had been building towards this moment for so very long. This was the culmination of years of repressed desires, and the ache of longing, along with a celebration of life.

The Doctor bent slightly and reached down to sweep Rose up in his arms, then took a few steps forward and placed her reverently down on the bed. He knelt beside her as she gazed up at him, passion flickering in each other's eyes like a smoldering flame.

The slowness of his movement was rapturous torture as the Doctor began an agonizingly languorous journey. He ran his hand across the top of her foot, up her leg, across the curve of her thigh, ghosting across her hip then with just the tips of his fingers, causing her to gasp at the exquisite sensations he was creating within her. Rose shivered and burned simultaneously as his touch left a trail of flames in its wake. The Doctor marveled at the feel of her skin, like silk beneath his fingers. He continued higher, spreading his hand wide as he swept up her abdomen, pausing to linger as he reached her chest and she arched into his palm, a soft moan escaping her slightly parted lips. He continued the sweeping motion up her neck and came to rest at the side of her face as he cradled her jaw. He lifted his other hand to brush a wisp of hair from her face as he paused to just gaze at her for a moment, all movement stilled. No words needed to be spoken as the depth of love and passion in their eyes conveyed without question what each was feeling in this moment.

His eyes fell to her mouth as he traced his thumb along her bottom lip. Rose parted her lips and drew his finger into her mouth, tongue swirling and teeth grazing lightly, eliciting a low groan from deep within his chest. The passion between them erupted in the intensity yet sacredness of this moment. The Doctor leaned forward slowly, inch-by-inch, as he brought his face to hers, lips just a whisper away from touching. "_My_ _Rose_," he murmured, yet not with spoken words, but through their nearly-completed bond as his lips then melded into hers. Rose clasped his upper arms and pulled him fully towards her as he lowered himself to cover her body with his own — their synchronized moans of pleasure echoing through the TARDIS.

As they reached the moment when the two became one and their love and bond was consummated, the song that began being composed the day they first met — not by chance but by destiny — was finally complete, and they danced to the symphony of the universe.

-:-:-:-

Hours later, they lay entwined in each other's arms, both feeling utterly spent and utterly complete. Rose turned over and rested her chin on her husband's chest as he slowly trailed his fingers up and down her back in a swirling pattern.

"Why did we wait so long for this?" he said with a sigh of gratification.

Rose placed a kiss on his chest, then looked back into his eyes. "Because in all that time we spent traveling together before, you kept claiming you had the 'moves', but wouldn't follow through with a demonstration," she replied, her eyes twinkling.

The Doctor waggled his eyebrows at her. "And what do you think of my 'moves' now?" he husked.

Rose tilted her head to the side and appeared to consider his question thoughtfully for a moment. "I dunno," she replied casually. "I think I might need another demonstration."

She looked back up at him with a mischievous smirk, and was met by his eyes that had gone almost black with desire. "That, Rose Tyler, can most definitely be arranged."

Rose gasped as she found herself beneath him before she had a chance to even blink, then sighed in pleasure as he proceeded to wipe that previous smirk right off her face.


	22. Chapter 22

**I've had this little plot twist in mind from the beginning in order to bring this story full-circle near to where it all began. **

** Here is my explanation for the Cloister Bell sounding in the TARDIS at the end of "Waters of Mars." ;)**

* * *

The newlyweds spent the next two weeks in the TARDIS just drifting in the Vortex. They knew any adventure they could be having outside the doors of the ship couldn't begin to compare to the adventure they were having inside. Rose had once called the Doctor insatiable, and she was now finding out just how true that statement was. He barely let her leave the bedroom (not that she was in any way complaining).

Rose finally managed to convince him that it was time to go see her mum and dad. She wasn't sure how they were going to take the news, but they were going to have to know about all this sooner or later.

-:-:-:-

Rose chewed her bottom lip nervously while she stood by the Doctor at the console as he began entering the coordinates to take them back to Jackie and Pete's. "So, we'll land just a few minutes after you left them, yeah?" she asked anxiously.

The Doctor, however, had his eyes trained on her tantalizing lips and he didn't quite register what she had said. "Hmm?" he replied, his distraction evident.

Rose put her hands on her hips. "Doctor," she said firmly, "you're gonna have to snap out of it when we're around Mum and Dad."

The Doctor shook himself. "Sorry." Then he gave her a slow, seductive grin. "You're just a bit…distracting." Then his grin widened. "And I'm not used to seeing you wearing clothes again."

Rose narrowed her gaze in mock sternness. "Well, it's been hard to wear clothes considering _someone_ kept making them disappear."

He smirked as he took a step closer. "I seem to have noticed a few articles of my own clothing suddenly vanishing on a rather frequent basis," he replied as he dropped his voice into that low timbre that he had quickly come to learn made Rose melt inside.

Before they could continue their flirting, which would have inevitably led them back to the bedroom (presuming they actually made it that far), the TARDIS lurched forward and came to a sudden stop as they reached their destination.

Rose took a deep, fortifying breath. The Doctor came behind her and encircled his arms around her waist. "Relax," he said soothingly as he placed a kiss to her head. "I know they're going to be happy for us."

Rose leaned back against him and sighed. "I know, it's just...I'm sure Mum always pictured at least _being_ there when I got married. Of course, our situation at the time didn't exactly allow for that."

The Doctor's expression darkened. He didn't like to even think about the grim events of that day. The memory of holding Rose's lifeless body in his arms would haunt him for years to come. He wrapped his arms more tightly around her as he rested his cheek against her head. "Well, we could always have another ceremony," he offered softly.

She turned in his arms to look into his eyes. "You'd really do that?" she asked in surprise. "It doesn't seem like the sort of thing you'd be willing to do twice."

He smiled gently at her as he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Pledging my love to you is something I will _never_ hesitate to do."

He leaned forward to brush her lips with a tender kiss when they were interrupted by a knock outside the TARDIS door. "Doctor, Rose, are you in there?" came Jackie's anxious voice.

Rose took his hand in hers and gripped it firmly for support. "This is it," she said, mustering her courage, then turned with him to head down the ramp.

They opened the door and Jackie flung her arms around Rose. "Oh, sweetheart! You're okay," she said in relief.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Mum," Rose assured her as she returned the embrace.

Once Jackie released her, Rose then hugged Pete who was standing beside her. Rose was grateful to learn Tony was already in bed because she didn't want him to hear the unpleasant details of what had happened.

"We've been so worried!" Jackie said as she gave her another hug.

"How long has it been?" Rose questioned, not always trusting the Doctor's timing when it came to getting her back when he said he was going to.

"Two days," she replied.

"Not exactly two minutes, then," Rose muttered to the Doctor who was looking a bit sheepish as he tugged on his ear. "But still, better than two years," she consented.

"Tell us what happened," Pete implored. "How long has it been for you?"

"Weeell, we didn't exactly come straight here," the Doctor began casually. "Had a bit of fun. You know, traveled about, did this and that, got into trouble — you know us. Got married," he added nonchalantly. "And this time it wasn't a mistake."

"What?" Jackie shrieked.

The Doctor leaned into Rose. "That got more of a reaction out of her than it did an Ood."

Rose just rolled her eyes and poked him in the side. "Not exactly the subtle way I was hoping to ease into this," she chided him.

"Are you tellin' me you two are married?" Jackie questioned in disbelief.

The Doctor raised his hand and waggled his fingers. "Hello, Mum," he grinned.

"Why don't we sit down and have some tea," Rose suggested. "I think we could all do with a good cuppa."

The Doctor and Rose went on to explain all that had happened since they'd seen them last. Jackie cried tears of mixed emotions upon hearing what had happened to Rose. And once she knew the circumstances, she understood the urgency of their marriage and why she and Pete weren't able to be there. She brightened considerably when they told her they would have another ceremony so the family could be a part of it.

"So, you're really okay with all this then?" Rose questioned. "I thought everything would come as more of a shock," she admitted. "Especially...you know...about the changes in me."

"Well, finding out that your child is _not_ gonna die anytime soon isn't exactly a bad thing," Jackie said as she gave her another hug.

She then turned to the Doctor. "Just promise me you'll take care of her. You're all she'll have one day." Jackie furrowed her brow in thought. "I mean, she'll probably outlive Tony's _children_. So promise me you'll always be there for her."

The Doctor smiled gently. "I will, Jackie. You have my word."

-:-:-:-

They ended up having a small private ceremony with just Jackie, Pete, Tony, and a few of Rose's friends in attendance. It was intimate, it was beautiful, and it was perfect. Though Rose hadn't really even been expecting it from him, the Doctor surprised her with a ring for the occasion. He said Jackie would have never been satisfied if he hadn't, but Rose knew the ring held special meaning for him as well. It was a dazzling gem which resembled a diamond, but when held to the light shimmered in shades of gold. He said it was from the planet Elishria and was known as an Eternity Stone, which represented undying love.

After the ceremony, the Doctor and Rose remained on Earth for a little while and set out on a whirlwind honeymoon tour: Paris, the Italian Riviera, Tahiti, then took to the TARDIS once again. Their life together was everything it had once been and _so_ much more.

A few months later (and still very much celebrating their honeymoon), the two stood at the console ready to plan their next destination as the Doctor made a few calibrations to the TARDIS after having finished some routine maintenance.

"How about the planet Glishta?" he suggested. "They have the most magnificent waterfalls cascading into crystalline pools below!"

Rose smiled seductively as she pressed in closer and traced a finger along his jaw. "I think you just want to get me into a bikini," she purred.

He grinned and made a sound of the affirmative in the back of his throat. "Into and then out of one," he replied with a waggle of his eyebrows.

As he began to lean in closer to her, they were suddenly and violently thrown apart as the TARDIS pitched forward and began spiraling out of control.

"What is it?" Rose yelled as she pulled herself back up and tried to grab hold from the other side of the console.

Just then an alarm sounded in the TARDIS. "It's an alert!" the Doctor yelled. "Level Five. Indicating a temporal collision! Two time zones at war in the heart of the TARDIS! This has happened once before," he continued while frantically trying to gain control of the ship. "And it almost blew a hole in the Space/Time Continuum the size of Belgium!"

"But how did this happen?" Rose asked frantically.

The Doctor muttered something about always forgetting to put the shields back up just as the Cloister Bell began to sound. "The only problem is," he continued, "what worked to fix this last time isn't working now! Not only that, but this seems to be tearing open a hole in the fabric of the universe!"

He continued at a frenzied pace trying to reverse the situation, but things continued to escalate.

"There's a dimensional fissure opening within the TARDIS and I can't stop it!" he called. "Rose, GET BACK!"

It was too late. As quickly as the fissure opened, it once again closed. The TARDIS stilled and everything appeared to be back to normal.

But Rose was gone.

-:-:-:-

A universe away, the Doctor sank to his knees in the snow as he fixed his eyes on the Ood in the distance.

"Is this it?" his voice trembled as he spoke, now realizing the dire consequences of breaking the Laws of Time.

He had gone too far.

"My death. Is it time?" he yelled, breathing heavily.

The Ood vanished, and he pulled himself up and quickly slipped into the TARDIS.

The Doctor stood at the console, his mind and emotions swirling violently. It was then that the Cloister Bell began to sound.

The haunting din echoed through the ship, and he could feel his fate closing in on him — hunting him down. Somewhere in the future, rippling back through the fabric of Time, he could hear the reverberating sound of four knocks.

"No," he breathed, as he quickly set the TARDIS in flight, determined to outrun what was coming.

The Cloister continued to sound its warning, and almost seemed to grow louder as the ship then began shaking violently. A temporal collision was taking place. The Doctor worked frantically to stabilize the ship and reverse the situation, but was thrown forcefully to the floor as a hole was torn open in the fabric of the universe and a dimensional fissure began opening up on the other side of the room. It then closed with a loud hiss as suddenly as it appeared and the Doctor, still shaken, pulled himself up from where he had been thrown to the grating. To his shock, he saw a woman with blonde hair lying on her side across from the console. He approached cautiously and came around to where he could see her face.

The Doctor suddenly staggered back, breathing heavily as he gazed in shock at the woman before him.

"_Rose_," he whispered. The name he had not uttered since he saw her for what he thought would be the final time, yet the name that never once stopped echoing through his mind.

Rose began to stir and sat up slowly. She looked blearily around the TARDIS as her eyes came back into focus.

"Doctor?" she croaked.

He took a few tentative steps towards her and knelt down. "Rose, how did this happen?" he asked, fighting to keep his voice steady.

She ran a hand through her hair as she tried to regain her bearings. "As I recall, it was your driving skills that threw me to the floor," she finally replied, teasing lightly.

His hearts clenched painfully. She thought he was the _other_. Rose didn't know he was the one who was no longer _her_ Doctor. Yet he couldn't allow that pain to clutch him in its grasp. It would shatter him. There was only so much he could take, and he was already at the breaking point. He forcibly shoved those feelings down and bottled them up tightly.

The Doctor quickly stood and took a step back as he pulled out the sonic and began to scan her. Fortunately, he was just looking for traces of residual energy to confirm how she had gotten here. If he had probed deeper, he undoubtedly would have discovered something about her that would have been rather difficult for Rose to explain. "There was a temporal collision and you were pulled through," he said, his voice suddenly void of all emotion.

Rose winced as she stood, then crossed over to him and placed her hands on his chest. "Well, whatever happened, I'm fine now, love," she assured him with a gentle smile.

The look he gave her was unsettling. She had never seen such darkness in the Doctor's eyes, and it unnerved her to the core. It was then Rose registered the feel of two hearts beating beneath her palms. She gasped and pulled her hands back with a start, as if she'd been burned.


	23. Chapter 23

**A rather heavy, angst-filled chapter. But as you'll see in the one that follows, this is leading up to a much happier ending that helps explain, at least in _my_ mind, the Doctor's mercurial shift in mood from how he was at the end of "Waters of Mars" to his much more jovial demeanor when he stepped out of the TARDIS at the start of "The End of Time." **

* * *

_The look he gave her was unsettling. She had never seen such darkness in the Doctor's eyes, and it unnerved her to the core. It was then Rose registered the feel of two hearts beating beneath her palms. She gasped and pulled her hands back with a start, as if she'd been burned._

They held each other's gaze for a tense moment, both breathing heavily.

"Two hearts," Rose finally gasped. "It's...it's you."

He swallowed heavily. "Yes."

She shook her head slowly. "But...how?"

"Temporal collision."

He finally broke the stare that had their eyes fused to each other, and suddenly it seemed as if he couldn't get far enough away from her as he went to the other side of the console and busied himself at the controls.

Rose's mind was spinning. She didn't understand how this could even be possible. If this happened now, then why didn't _her_ Doctor — this Doctor's future self — remember it? Surely this was the sort of thing he would have mentioned.

"You shouldn't be here," he said flatly, knowing there was no possible way Rose could stay — he severed any chance for that when he made the excruciating decision to leave her behind, believing she could have a better life with her family and a version of himself who had the courage to love her as she deserved to be loved. Rose no longer belonged in this universe — no longer belonged with him. So as much as it killed him inside, the only thing he could do was send her back.

Again.

And for the sake of his stability, the sooner the better. He couldn't allow himself to feel the joy of having Rose with him again, only to inevitably lose her once more. He was not able to bring himself to even look at her as he spoke. "As soon as I figure out how to reverse this, I'll send you back," he said, his emotionless tone concealing the turmoil within.

Rose sank down into the jump seat and eyed him pensively. The Doctor had told her how alone and broken he had been during this time. He had also told her that while he often thought of her, he sometimes had to do his best to block it out because the thought of her gone from his life was just too painful to dwell on.

A throbbing ache rose in her chest as she watched him while he worked at the controls, single-mindedly determined to send her away. "You can't get rid of me quick enough, can you?" Rose said, unable to hide the hurt in her voice. She knew she shouldn't let herself be upset by his reaction to her, especially knowing how everything would work out for them in the end. But still, it _did_ hurt.

His eyes flashed up to her, then quickly back down. "I'm just trying to get you home," he replied, his voice tight.

"Weren't you always," she let quietly slip out. He didn't respond.

It's funny, Rose thought ruefully, there was a time when _this_ universe was home, and she would have given her life to get back to it. But she couldn't blame this Doctor for reacting this way. He was probably experiencing emotional turmoil right now.

He continued on at the controls for several minutes, the atmosphere thick with intense silence. Rose wanted to go to him, take his hand in hers and tell him that everything would be alright, that he would not be alone for much longer and tell him about the amazing life they would soon have together. But she knew she couldn't. If he knew about his future, it could change everything. So she remained silent and couldn't let him know that the Doctor she was with in the other universe was really _him_ — or at least soon would be.

After several more minutes, the Doctor finally spoke up, but his eyes remained fixed on the controls. "If I can reverse the dimensional stabilizers creating a temporal fold-back and recreate the conditions that caused this, I should be able to open the fissure between dimensions and send you back. I've set the stabilizers on a reversal loop to start the process, but it'll take about twenty minutes for them to cycle 'round."

The Doctor continued fidgeting at the controls, never once looking in her direction.

"You can look at me, you know," Rose finally said, her voice sounding small. "I'm just...me," she finished with a shrug.

Slowly, he lifted his eyes to her. "You were never _just_ you," he said, so softly she could barely make out his words.

They each held the other's gaze for a moment. There was so much they both wanted to say, but neither one was able to find the words or even know where to begin. It was Rose who finally looked away first as she spoke.

"Will he know what happened — know that I'm alright? I don't want him to worry."

His jaw tensed. The Doctor knew exactly who the _he _was she was referring to — the man who had everything he never could. "If he's half as clever as me, and he should be, then I'm sure he's worked it out."

Rose just nodded.

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Earlier, you said it was my_...his_…driving skills that threw you to the floor. Does that mean you were...?"

"In the TARDIS," she confirmed.

"How can you have a TARDIS already?" he questioned in surprise.

"It's...a long story," she finally answered.

There was another long pause of silence.

"You didn't even say goodbye," she suddenly blurted out. Rose knew she shouldn't even be going down this road. The two of them had already been through all this, and she had long since put it behind her. But somehow, seeing him like this — the same man with the same mindset who walked away without the intention of ever returning, she couldn't help but feel that familiar sting once again.

He swallowed thickly, his eyes filled with pain. "I couldn't. I just couldn't," he said quietly.

Suddenly his face became an emotionless mask once more, and he turned back to the console. "Besides, you were a bit preoccupied at the time anyway. I'm surprised you even noticed," he said flippantly, but with an unmistakable edge of bitterness to his tone.

"Well isn't that what you wanted?" Rose retorted as she stood up. Oh, she knew this was insane. Having an argument about him jealous of her being with his other self when they were exactly the _same_ man, but she just couldn't help herself. He always had a way of stirring up a fire in her, but most of the time in _very_ good ways.

Yet his broken, anguished reply quickly subdued the feeling of anger that has risen up. "Yeah," he breathed, his voice cracking with pain as he gazed at the floor. "That's what I wanted. I wanted you to be happy." He looked back up at her with sorrowful eyes filled with centuries of regret. "Are you happy, Rose?"

Rose's eyes traveled down to the wedding ring on her finger as his gaze followed her line of sight. She forced down the lump in her throat as she replied. "Yeah. I'm very happy. _You_ make me happy." She bit her lip in a second's hesitation, then spoke the words she had been fighting back. "Doctor, he's _you_." Her words came out in a rush, unable to stop herself.

He smiled sadly. "That's what I had tried to tell you back on that beach. I'm glad you finally realized it."

Her shoulders sagged. "Yeah," she mumbled as she slumped back down on the jump seat, wincing in pain as she did so.

He was at her side in an instant. "Are you hurt?" he asked in concern.

She shifted, trying to ignore the pain in her side. "I'm fine. Just a little sore from the landing I made."

"Come on, let's get you to the infirmary," he insisted. She knew it was pointless to argue.

He instinctively held out his hand to her which she instantly took. He momentarily froze at the contact. The feel of her hand in his was something he had ached for ever since it had been gone from his life. He now had her back for this brief moment, but felt the pain of knowing he was going to have to give her up once more. That's why he always ran and never looked back. Going back was too painful.

But still, he had her hand now, if only for this brief moment; and he wasn't about to let go. There was one thing that had never changed: He needed Rose like he needed the air to breathe — he had from the moment he met her. And just being near her once more almost inexplicably soothed the turmoil he was feeling over what had just transpired on Bowie Base One.

The Doctor walked Rose to the infirmary and finally released her hand to have her sit on the table while he ran a quick scan for injury.

"You've got a bruised rib, but nothing serious," he assessed. He then turned to grab the dermal regenerator.

Rose reached for the hem of her shirt and tugged it over her head without giving it a second thought. Being intimate with him felt natural to her now, and she briefly forgot that _this_ him had never seen her in quite this way. He turned back and froze in place as his eyes traveled over her, clad in only a bra and the tight-fitting low-slung jeans her Doctor loved her in (and out of). Suddenly feeling more than a bit awkward, Rose blushed and went to reach for her shirt, but then stopped herself.

_He is a doctor, after all_, she thought to herself with an inward smirk. _And why not give him a little glimpse of things to come?_

His gaze traveled down and fell upon the iridescent scar on her abdomen. He slowly stepped closer. Tentatively, he reached out his hand and trailed his fingers down its length, causing them both to shiver at the contact. He lifted his eyes to hers with a questioning look.

"It was the worst and best day of my life," Rose said in reply, but knew she couldn't give him the details. He would have to live it for himself. The Doctor simply nodded, but she knew in that moment he could feel the bond between them, yet didn't know it was a bond that would one day be his.

The Doctor forced his eyes back to her face as he cleared his throat. "Lie back," he instructed, forcing neutrality into his tone. Rose eased herself back as he ran the device over the bruised, tender flesh. The Doctor had to fight to stay focused on the job at hand. He could smell _himself_ all over her and it was driving him mad. He was also acutely aware of the ring on her left hand — an Eternity Stone, and he could now sense a bond that Rose had with his other self.

The Doctor had always told himself he could never have Rose in the way he _wanted_ to, but now it was clear his other self was able to have just that. He inwardly cursed the injustice of it all.

He told Adelaide Brooke that he was the Time Lord Victorious, and the Winner; but the truth of it was he felt like the Universal Loser.

The Doctor thought back to the time when it was just him and Rose. Just the two of them running hand-in-hand through time and space, and everything between them was so easy and care-free. He always knew it would one day have to end, but a part of him wanted so desperately to believe it was true when she told him she would stay with him forever. But that just wasn't possible no matter how much he had wanted to believe it.

Somewhere between _"Run"_ and _"Does it need saying?"_ innocence was lost, and everything became a bit more complicated.

After several moments, the Doctor switched off the device and set it aside as Rose sat up. He placed a hand over her now healed rib, applying just the slightest pressure. "All better?" he asked, his throat feeling constricted from the emotions he was trying to tamp down.

Rose placed her hand over his. "Yes," she breathed. She reached out her other hand and gently stroked his cheek, feeling him tremor slightly beneath the intimacy of her touch. Oh, how she loved this man — past or present. He was simply _her Doctor_, and her love and desire for him would remain constant throughout all of Time.

Unable to stop herself and drawn to him by instinct, she leaned forward, bringing her face closer to his, stopping only when their lips were nearly touching. He didn't make a move to come closer, but neither did he pull away. She could feel his breath coming out in rapid pants as she closed the final centimeter between them and pressed her lips to his. His mouth was soft and pliant beneath hers, and she was about to lose herself in him, just as she always did, when she realized with a start what she was doing, and that he was not responding, not moving.

Rose broke the kiss, pulled back and looked into his eyes. Something suddenly flashed in those dark brown pools. Was it anger? Sorrow? Need? Perhaps a mixture of all three. Before she had a chance to register what was happening, he pulled her to him almost savagely and claimed her mouth in a fiery kiss. It was desperate and hungry and raw. Rose knew she should stop this before it went too far; but then he was doing that magical thing with his tongue that made her lose it _every_ _time_ and, _oh_, she didn't want him to ever stop.

But he finally did stop, just as suddenly as he began. He slowly released her and took a step back, both breathing heavily.

He ran a quivering hand through his hair. "I'm sorry," he said shakily.

Rose slipped the shirt back over her head and took a deep breath. "I'm not," she replied simply and without regret.

The Doctor stared at her with uncertainty, perhaps questioning her fidelity to her husband. "He's _you_," Rose said firmly once again, wishing she could tell him just how literal that statement was.

Sorrow washed over his face once more, thinking if only that were true. "Yeah," he replied in a hoarse whisper as he turned and left the room.

Rose sighed heavily. Just when she thought all complications between her and the Doctor were behind them, the universe always seemed to have a way of throwing them a curve.


	24. Chapter 24

**And so we reach the final chapter. Thank you so, so much to everyone who has read and reviewed this story! I can't even begin to say how much that means to me! I hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. For me, thinking of the story happening in this way makes "The End of Time" just a little easier to bear.**

** The ending lines are cliché and have probably been used a thousand times before. But really, is there any other way to end it for these two? ;)**

* * *

Rose stood and left the infirmary to follow the Doctor back to the console room, wishing desperately there was a way to ease his current anguish and somehow let him know the two of them would one day be together again. She followed silently behind him, his shoulders heavy from the weight of the all-too familiar sorrow of losing everyone who ever mattered to him.

Just as they were emerging from the corridor, the TARDIS began shaking violently. The Doctor staggered to the controls to try and stabilize the ship.

"Another dimensional fissure is opening within the TARDIS!" he yelled, as Rose grabbed hold of a nearby strut to steady herself.

A crackling wall of energy appeared on the other side of the room, and a figure began to emerge from the center. The fissure then suddenly enfolded upon itself and closed with a loud hiss. Left standing in its place was a mirror-image of the Doctor.

A smug smile tugged at his lips as he took in the shocked expressions on his wife and his double's faces. "Did you miss me?" he asked casually.

A wide grin broke out across Rose's face as a laugh escaped from her throat. She ran and flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and legs around his waist. He returned her enthusiasm and began kissing her in a manner that would've had them both divested of clothing in a matter of minutes if the other Doctor hadn't cleared his throat rather loudly to get their attention. This display was even worse than what he'd had to witness back on that blasted beach, he thought to himself.

"Oh, hello! Sorry," the Doctor replied to his past self. "Got a bit carried away." Then he gave Rose a wink as he straightened his disheveled tie. "Happens quite a lot, actually."

"How did you get here?" Rose asked, still beaming.

He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by his past self. "Reversed the dimensional stabilizers and created a temporal fold-back, recreating the event that caused the first one," he supplied. "The same thing _I_ was working on," he added a bit defensively.

"Ah, yes," the other Doctor responded, "but you were just a bit slower at it than me." He then looked knowingly between Rose and his past self. "But then again, I'm sure you've been _busy_."

He shot his wife a smirk as she blushed. Rose then took him by the hand and pulled him off to the side, a million thoughts going through her mind. Maybe now she could get some answers.

"How was this even possible?" she asked quietly while the other Doctor stood at the controls, making the final preparations to send them both back. "Why didn't you remember this happening in your past? Or did this not happen before?" she questioned, still perplexed by it all.

The Doctor breathed deeply as he began to explain. "This was the time leading up to my final days in this universe. I didn't yet know it then, but Time itself was bleeding," he said dismally, a shadow crossing his face as he recalled those dark days. "That's what Ood Sigma had tried to warn me of just moments before this happened, but I ran. When I finally did go to them, I was told, '_Shapes of things once lost are moving through the veil_.' That apparently didn't just pertain to the Master and the Time Lords returning, but to this event as well. The universe at this point in time has been weakened, and that's what allowed this temporal convergence." He then smiled gently at her. "And I realize now that this had always happened. I just didn't remember it because I'm going to have to take these memories from myself when we leave so that what I've experienced won't change what happens in my future. But now that the event has circled back around, those memories are beginning to filter back through and I'm starting to remember some of the details from my other perspective." He then leaned in closer to whisper in her ear. "And that kiss was rather magnificent, if I do say so myself."

Rose blushed. "You remember that? I...it was just that I...," she stammered.

He placed his finger on her lips. "It's okay," he whispered, the memories of that kiss having now returned to him. "Because you were right: I'm him. And you know what? _I _wasn't sorry for it, either," he said with a sultry grin.

They were interrupted as the other Doctor called over to them. "It's time," he said somberly. "If you two are ready, I can re-open the fissure between dimensions and send you back now."

Rose quickly looked back at her husband. "If you're gonna have to take these memories so he, I mean you, won't remember, then couldn't I...,"

"Tell me everything?" he finished.

"Yes."

He sighed. "My past self will only be able to know for a moment, Rose." Then he smiled slowly. "But I already knew you were going to ask that. So yes."

She grinned and turned to go over to the other Doctor when her husband took her by the hand and gently turned her back around.

"Thank you," he whispered, grateful not only for this, but for _all_ Rose had given him. He gazed over at his past self. He had forgotten, or at least tried to forget, how far he had fallen at this point. He was lonely and desperate and just a bit dangerous. He now had Rose to ground him, but sometimes he needed to be reminded of the past and just how far he was capable of going so he never repeated those mistakes. Remembering his former self gave him a renewed, overwhelming gratitude for the life he was now able to have.

Rose approached the other Doctor, who was looking so torn and anguished but trying desperately to hide it.

"Well, I suppose this time we get to say a proper goodbye," he said with a smile that didn't reach his sorrowful eyes.

Rose reached out and took his hand in hers. "He's you," she repeated once more. He opened his mouth to reply but she silenced him with her fingers on his lips. "No, I mean _really you_." She took a deep breath, trying to think of how best to explain this. "Your song will end soon," she stated.

A look of darkness crossed his face at hearing those ominous words yet again. "That apparently seems to be universal knowledge," he replied, trying to keep his tone light but failing miserably.

Rose grinned widely, which wasn't exactly how he thought she would react in such a conversation. _Well, at least one of us doesn't seem bothered by my impending death_, he thought to himself glumly.

Rose stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace, then turned her head to whisper in his ear. "But the story never ends."

She pulled back and took both his hands in hers as she gazed deeply into his eyes. "This isn't something you're gonna be able to remember — at least not for the time being. But if it takes away your pain for even a moment, then it's worth it." She exhaled deeply. "I could try to tell you, but I think it would be better if I show you. You've been teaching me how to use our bond to communicate telepathically and share thoughts and feelings. So, here goes..."

Rose then took his face in her hands and closed her eyes as she pressed her forehead to his. He was suddenly overwhelmed as thoughts, memories and images began to flow through his mind in rapid succession. He saw images of his current, lonely life coming to a close, but _oh_, it didn't end there. He then saw the gift of new life and unfathomable love. He was shown everything — all the joys, trials, and triumphs that would soon be his life. _His_ life! And he could see the timelines — their timelines, as they merged and came into perfect sync. He could also see a future lineage, and the possibility for new timelines arising from their own — children born of love and a new race of Time Lords continuing on.

He understood now — all of it. It was always destined to be this way. He had to leave Rose in order to come back to her in the way it was meant to be. But come back he _would_! Because his Tenth self, the one who had always loved Rose beyond his own control, was destined to be with her from the moment he was created _for_ _her,_ as he drew the Time Vortex out of her with a kiss, creating this version of himself.

The last of the Time Lords would have died that day on Satellite Five if Rose had not come back to save him. And because of her profound love that made her willing to sacrifice her own life for him, she was given a part of him — the one who held all the love of his Ninth, as well as the love that then merged, grew and intensified with his Tenth self, to be with her always. Just as it was meant to be.

Tears of joy swelled in his eyes and spilled over down his face as Rose pulled back from him and lowered her hands. "Oh, Rose," he whispered, his voice trembling in awe and disbelief. How could he even begin to put into words what he was feeling in this moment — what all of this meant to him? He had gone from thinking he had lost everything in life and that his own life would soon come to an end, only to learn he was about to have everything he never even dared to allow himself to hope for.

Rose raised her hand to his face and swept away his tears with her thumb. "Shhh, I know," she replied in a hushed voice, then leaned forward and gave him one last soft, lingering kiss. It was tender and gentle, but succeeded in taking his breath away. He wrapped his arms around Rose and pulled her closer as he lost himself to her in this moment in the way he had always dreamt of.

_Oh_, he could certainly do with much more of this, he thought to himself as he held her in his arms. And apparently one day soon, he would get that chance.

Rose pulled back slightly, stroking his cheek, then placed one last kiss on his lips. "I'm sorry I have to leave you." She said gently, then gave him a slow smile. "But I promise to make it up to you later on when your future self and I get back."

He returned her smile, positively beaming. "One day I'll hold you to that," he replied.

Rose took both his hands in hers and squeezed them gently. "Stay strong through what lies ahead, and know in your hearts we'll be together again one day," she said softly but with conviction as she gazed into his eyes. Rose gave him one more smile. "I'll see you soon, my love," she whispered as she released him and took a step back.

His future self then approached. "Are you ready?" He nodded. The Doctor then placed his fingers on his past self's temples and removed those memories of what would soon be his future. Once he released him and stepped back, the memories had already begun to fade.

By the time the future Doctor took Rose's hand and stepped towards the fissure that was beginning to open, the other Doctor had already forgotten the memories Rose had given him. Once the two of them were gone, he would no longer remember that they had even been here.

Just before leaving, Rose turned back to him. Having now forgotten what she had shown him, he was already feeling the all-too familiar pain of her loss, thinking Rose Tyler was leaving his life for the final time. But as she grinned at him, the tip of her tongue peeking out between her teeth, he couldn't help but smile genuinely in return.

"Tell you what," she said with a mischievous glint in her eye. "I bet you are gonna have a _really_ great year."

Rose and her husband grinned knowingly at each other as they turned to step back through to their universe. Just before slipping away, Rose threw him one last grin over her shoulder. "See ya!" she called.

The memories were already slipping away from him, and in a matter of minutes, he could no longer recall any of it. Yet what he was left with was an unexplainable calm and a feeling of peace where there had once been turmoil. It was almost a sense of joy. He had a renewed zest for life and the desire to do something just for the sheer joy of it. Perhaps, he thought to himself as he walked up to the console with an extra lightness in his step, he'd go see the Phosphorous Carousel of the Great Mingelinga Stat. He'd always wanted to see that.

And then, he thought maybe it would be time to pay Ood Sigma a visit. Because whatever his future held, he now felt prepared to face it.

-:-:-:-

As soon as Rose and the Doctor returned, he practically pounced on her. "I seem to recall somewhere in my past you giving the promise of making something up to me," he husked into her ear once he released her from a rather spectacular and dizzying kiss.

"So I did," she replied breathlessly, looking a bit dazed.

Rose almost had to jog to keep up with him as he led her by the hand purposefully down the corridor to their room. She knew that look in his eyes. It meant she was hardly going to have a chance to catch her breath.

And she was right. It was fast and it was frenzied and Rose didn't mind one bit. She liked it when he lost control and got just a little bit desperate. Rose was feeling just a little desperate herself.

Their lives could have taken such different paths if they had not been given this second chance together. They had both been reminded of what a precious gift they had been given, and the enormity of their love that had bound them together and brought them back full-circle into each other's arms.

After the raw desperation had been soothed, they made slow, passionate love, cherishing and adoring each other.

Hours later, Rose lay curled in the Doctor's arms, their fingers interlaced and resting over his heart while his other hand traced the intricate circular pattern of his name across the skin of her hip.

The Doctor leaned forward to nuzzle at the side of her neck, then whispered softly in her ear. "How long are you going to stay with me?"

It was the same question he had once asked her before, but this time they didn't have to wish and pretend that her impossible answer could be true. Now she could say it without a trace of doubt between them.

Roes turned in his embrace and gazed deeply into his eyes as she replied with certainty.

"Forever."


End file.
